Cavan Gaels' bid to capture their first ever Ulster club football title came to an end when they were narrowly beaten by eventual winners Crossmaglen Rangers at Brewster Park, Enniskillen on Sunday November 21. Goalkeeper Eoghan Elliott reviewed the year with Breffni Blue. Cavan Gaels aren't that far away from making the grade at provincial level judging by their narrow defeat to Armagh kingpins, Crossmaglen Rangers in the Ulster club semi-final on the second last Sunday in November. Having won back-to-back county titles in 2002 and 2003 the Gaels harboured a burning desire to become the first team from the county to lift the Ulster Club Championship. It was an all-consuming yearning that fired them through their county championship and brought them tantalisingly close to achieving their Holy Grail. That Crossmaglen Rangers, who beat the Gaels in the Ulster quarter-final, went on to lift their fourth provincial title at the expense of Down champions Mayobridge, is proof positive that the reigning Cavan champions could make the breakthrough in 2005, assuming that they can retain their county title. Brewster Park in Enniskillen won't hold fond memories for Gaels and county goalkeeper Eoghan Elliott, who was powerless to prevent Ranger's opening score when Cathal Short blasted to the net after a mistake by Darren Rabbit in the third minute. But to their credit Gaels came storming back and were only two points in arrears, 1-7 to 0-5 at the break. They were fastest out of the blocks on resumption and were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty in the 42nd minute when Armagh defender Francie Bellew appeared to foul Sean Johnston. However, to Gaels' disbelief the referee awarded a free out, when a free in or penalty looked the most likely outcome. "It was definitely a free kick if not a penalty. If we got the penalty and scored it would have put us two points ahead, but the referee gave a free out for some reason. It was a turning point in the game," Eoghan asserted. A great point from substitute Neil Collins left just the minimum between the teams, 1-8 to 0-10, with eight minutes remaining, but late scores from Michael McNamee and substitute Colm O'Neill saw Rangers prevail on a 1-10 to 0-10 scoreline. When the dust had finally settled on Gael's odyssey through the Cavan championship and their defeat at the quarter-final hurdle in Ulster, Eoghan took stock on another busy year at club level. The Cavan shot stopper admitted to being "gutted" at the final whistle of the Brewster Park clash. "We ran them extremely close. We are not that far away. We just need to be more clinical with our finishing," he opined. He added: "It was the type of game that left me scratching my head and wondering how on earth we managed to lose that match. We dropped three or four balls into the goalkeeper's hands. We hit the post three or four times and kicked about 12 wides. We missed a lot of chances and at this level you cannot afford to be that wasteful in front of goals." The concession of that goal after just three minutes proved to be the difference between the teams. "Darren went up for the ball and slipped and fell. There was nothing he could do about it. He didn't give Cathal Short a kick of the ball after that. He got one chance and he took it. You have to take your hat off to him. Equally they took all their points very well. They are the nearest thing to a professional team you are ever going to meet at this level," Eoghan added. If football matches were won on possession, Gaels would have won this game by a veritable mile. But their inability to turn that possession into scores proved their downfall. "We had the bulk of the possession for 50 minutes of the game. We walked through them at stages, but we didn't take enough of our chances," he rued. "They were clinical in their finishing. Ultimately, that was the difference between the teams. They have been one of the best club sides in the country for a good few years and that told on the day." Gaels set out at the start of the year with twin-pronged aspirations - to retain their county title and become the first Cavan outfit to win the Ulster club. "We set our goals at the start of the year to win Cavan and Ulster. We wanted to be the first Cavan team to win Ulster so there was a huge incentive there for us to do well," Eoghan recalled. Had they managed to prevail against Crossmaglen, Eoghan believes they would have put Mayobridge to the sword in the Ulster final had they then reached the decider. "We would have fancied our chances against Mayobridge. We knew deep down that Rangers were the team to beat. They have been the team to beat in Ulster for the best part of 10 years," he noted. If Cavan Gaels are to get another crack at the Ulster club championship in 2005, they will first have to retain their Cavan SFC title. That would represent a three-in-a-row for the Cavan Town based outfit, which hasn't been achieved in recent years by any team. With the likes of Gowna, Bailieboro, Kingscourt and Mullahoran waiting in the wings that task won't be easy. "Gowna were going for a three-in-a-row when we beat them in 2001, so they will be hell bent on stopping us. Mullahoran are another team who would have designs on winning the championship. Kingscourt and Bailieboro are other teams capable of causing an upset," he remarked. "It is going to be tough to get the three-in-a-row. We are under no illusions about the size of the task, but were are a young team and there is a great hunger there to win the three-in-a-row and have another crack at the Ulster title," he added. Eoghan Elliott is a quantity surveyor, with his father's firm, Aidan Elliott Construction Ltd. Based at Tierquin, Cavan, the company specialises in the provision of high quality commercial, industrial and domestic buildings throughout the country. The company places particular emphasis on expertise, reliability, quality and safety in the provision of all its projects in line with regulatory and individual specific customer requirements. To ensure that all projects meet with customer requirements, projects can be examined during construction and prior to the handover. The company is vastly experienced in the building sector and is recognised as a leader in the residential and commercial construction sectors. Tweet

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