Cavan football fans have witnessed more ups and downs than a rabbit running through Breffni's meandering drumlins. 2007 saw more of the same. Kevin Carney reports. Cavan's championship record over the past four decades has been speckled with troughs and peaks to match even the most stomach-churning rollercoaster ride. If the truth be told, Cavan's lows have greatly outnumbered it's highs since the halcyon days of the Sam Maguire Cup-winning era of the 'fifties. The home defeat (1-9 to 0-14) to Waterford in the last round of the 2006 NFL was a new low though. The great prize of promotion was there to be won plus a place in the league semi-final but the county's finest blew it. In the cool light of day, it was pointed out that Cavan won five matches in-a-row during the league before the Waterford game. The glass half-full merchants said a more accurate portrayal of Cavan's true worth would come to the fore in their Ulster SFC preliminary round clash with Down at Casement Park last May. As things panned out, a goal by Down dynamo Benny Coulter 10 minutes into the second half was all the launching pad Down needed (1-13 to 0-11) to propel Cavan into the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers after a mediocre championship clash. Martin McElkennon's men played as if they had a point to prove in the first half even if their laboured, circuituous play had their supporters in the 12,000-strong crowd baying for a more direct ball. The teams were actually tied on four occasions in the opening 15 minutes with Dermot McCabe's converted free making it 0-4 apiece at that juncture. Going in at the interval on level terms at 0-6 apiece, Cavan boss McElkennon would have been much the happier man, happy in the knowledge that his side got off very lightly in front of their own goal. Cavan continued to hoover up a raft of ball from the midfield exchanges and their will-to-win seemed superior to that of Down's. Seanie Johnston's 47th minute point - arguably the best of the match -added to Cavan's hopes. But Cavan's hopes received a major blow when, after a sweeping move, the ever-dangerous Coulter nipped in front of the advancing James Reilly to fist the ball over the 'keeper's head and into the open goal. Down's nerves and self-doubt seemed to kick in over the last quarter and two converted frees by Johnston kept the game on the boil and kept Down looking over their shoulders with increasing concern. But then came Coulter's goal and with it the slippery slope for Cavan. Cavan tried to counter with interest and while a brace of frees from the tireless Johnston left just one between the sides, 0-11 to 1-9, on the hour mark, Down showed they had more in the tank and deservedly booked a date with Donegal. The Cavan team, and subs, that featured against Down was as follows; James Reilly; Michael Hannon, Pauric Reilly, Keith Fannin; Martin Cahill, Anthony Gaynor, Paul Brady (0-1); Dermot McCabe (0-1), Cathal Collins; Mark McKeever, Peter Reilly, Sean Brady; Gerald Pierson (0-1), Larry Reilly (0-2), Sean Johnston (0-6, three frees). Subs; Jason O'Reilly for Gerald Pierson; Cian Mackey for Peter Reilly; Joey Jordan for Mark McKeever; Eddie O'Reilly for Larry Reilly. The Cavan senior footballers attempted to kick-start their rehabilitation from their Ulster SFC exit with an away trip to Kildare on Sunday, June 18th for their opening fortie in the Qualifiers. Cavan would have to do without defender Paul Brady (Mullahoran) for the game as the flying half-back was in the U.S. preparing to defend his world handball crown. The blues had also to start without Gerald Pierson who was unable to train properly for the two weeks in the run up to the Kildare game after his troublesome knee flared up in a club game. McElkennon and Co. were also forced to make do without long-term casualties Nicholas Walsh and Darren Rabbitte. Of course, there was the no small matter of the unavailability of Cavan's chief playmaker Micheal Lyng. On a balmy evening in Newbridge at the end of June, Cavan fans saw their county's finest footballers pay dearly for an untimely siesta, eventually losing out to their hosts by 1-13 to 1-18. Cavan paid the ultimate penalty for the concession of an unanswered 1-7 tally in a disastrous period between the 13th and 30th minutes of the first half. And while Cavan played a gallant game of catch-up in the second half and actually got to within two points of their opponents on four separate occasions in the second half, the blues never really looked like reclaiming the high ground once Kildare edged into the lead (1-4 to 1-3) for the first time in the 20th minute. Cavan had enjoyed a turbo-charged start with Larry Reilly's 11th minute goal propelling Martin McElkennnon's side into an unflattering 1-3 to 0-1 lead. Eddie O'Reilly notched Cavan's third point in the 6th minute and while John Doyle opened the hosts' account with a free in the 10th minute, Knockbride clubman Reilly latched onto Martin Cahill's half-blocked shot just 60 seconds later to find the net from 12 metres. Trailing by 1-5 to 1-11 on the restart, Cavan were a much improved team in the opening 25 minutes of the second half and it took Kildare all of 15 minutes to get off the mark when Earley found the target. By the 44th minute Cavan trailed by 1-7 to 1-11 and thereafter the blues tried everything in their armoury to weave a way back on terms and inspired by a rejuvenated Dermot McCabe carried the game to the leaders at every opportunity. There was still two points between the sides when Johnston converted a free in the 66th minute (1-13 to 1-15) but that was as good as it got for Cavan. As if Cavan's troubles weren't bad enough, impressive stand-in full-back Gaynor was forced off with what appeared a disclocated shoulder. Three unanswered points on the final straight thereafter served to copper-fasten Cavan's untimely exit from the championship race for at least another year. Cavan (SFC v Kildare); James Reilly; Michael Hannon, Anthony Gaynor, Keith Fannin; Martin Cahill (0-1), Anthony Forde (0-1), Cathal Collins; Lorcan Mulvey, Dermot McCabe; Michael Brides, Sean Brady (0-1), Mark McKeever; Sean Johnston (0-6, five frees), Eddie O'Reilly (0-1), Larry Reilly (1-0). Subs; Ronan Flanagan (0-1) for Michael Brides; Enda King for Lorcan Mulvey; Jason O'Reilly (0-2) for McKeever; Padraig Reilly for Martin Cahill; Joey Jordan for Anthony Gaynor (inj) Redemption, thankfully, was just around the corner. Chief goal poacher Sean Johnston was the toast of Cavan as his late goal helped seal the Breffni Blues' progress (2-12 to 0-14) in the Tommy Murphy Cup at the expense of a physically imposing but largely immobile Roscommon side. On an evening borrowed from Mediterranean climes, both sides were far from energised by the humid conditions and there was much more huffing and puffing on offer than the type of football likely to be gleaned from the purist's handbook. Having been left reeling against the ropes by Eddie O'Reilly's goal nine minutes from time, Roscommon were knocked out cold ten minutes later when a surging run by midfielder Lorcan Mulvey ended with Cavan Gaels' livewire Johnston rifling the ball to the net to leave no way back for the westerners. The game was delicately poised at 0-8 to 0-10 in Roscommon's favour when Cavan suffered what appeared to be a hammer blow to their hopes with full-back Cathal Collins was dismissed for a second yellow card offence in the 47th minute. The differential in personnel was erased though in the 51st minute when Sean McDermott (Roscommon) was dismissed for a second yellow card offence after he was seen pulling Johnston's jersey. Johnston tagged on a point in the 61st minute to make it 1-12 to 0-13 but then just moments later Roscommon spurned a glorious goal chance when Enda Kenny misplaced his fisted pass in front of the Cavan goal to the in-running Niall Moran and the ball was gleefully carried up the field by the home defence. Ultimately the game was decided by Johnston's bullet-like effort three minutes before the end of normal time. Cavan led by the minimum, 1-12 to 0-14, at that juncture but a powerful 35 metre run by Mulvey paved the way for Cavan's number 15 to side-step his advancing marker on the edge of the small square and skilfully slide the ball low past the flat-footed Roscommon 'keeper to seal the issue. Cavan (Tommy Murphy Cup v Roscommon); Colm Anderson; Fergal Slowey, Cathal Collins, Keith Fannin; Martin Cahill (0-2), Michael Hannon, Mark McKeever (0-1); Enda King, Lorcan Mulvey; Sean Brady, Anthony Forde (0-3), Ronan Flanagan (0-1); Pierce West, Eddie O'Reilly, Sean Johnston (1-5, three frees). Sub; Michael Brides for Pierce West; Ciaran Galligan for Fergal Slowey. Next time out, in the quarter-final against an Antrim team minus eight players who opted for a summer in the US, Cavan crumbled like a newly-baked scone in a child's hand as they went down by 2-9 to 2-14 in Casement Park. In that latter respect, it was noteworthy that ten Antrim players made the scoresheet while Cavan's huge over-reliance on Sean Johnston for scores stood out like a sore thumb. Without the likes of Larry Reilly, Gerald Pierson and Jason Reilly on board, Cavan looked impotent for long periods up front. Cavan hit the jackpot in the 13th minute when Anthony Forde played a quick free into the path of Mullahoran's Eddie Reilly and, in a flash, the ball flew past Finucane in the Antrim goal. Reilly's goal catapulted Cavan into a 1-2 to 0-2 lead and when Johnston swung over another point two minutes later, it looked like Antrim were ripe for a bit of a pasting. Antrim went into top gear in the run up to half-time and five unanswered points fairly rocked the blues back on their heels as they surrendered the lead for the first time in the match. Cavan hung in there though and got back on terms to go in at the break level at 1-5 to 0-8 with at least 35 minutes ahead to find something of their best form. Sadly the team's fortunes nosedived on the restart for all sorts of reasons. Chief among those reasons was the dismissal of half-back Martin Cahill within one minute of the commencement of the second half after the Denn man received his second yellow card. Then in the 38th minute, Cavan's defence was split open and Kevin Brady added to Karl Stewart's point moments earlier with a well-taken goal. Cavan were on the rack and struggled badly to get off the ropes and when Ciaran McGourty pointed, the blues were facing into a 1-5 to 1-10 deficit with 43 minutes on the clock. There was no let-up in the Antrim pressure and when attacking half-back Sean McVeigh fisted a speculative cross from Stewart to the net in the 49th minute, Cavan looked in deep, deep trouble. Johnston's goal in the 61st minute gave the visitors a lifeline but when Ronan Flanagan struck his shot against the butt of the post, it became clear that it was going to be Antrim's day. And so it turned out as Antrim went onto comfortably consolidate their advantage. The post-mortems among the Cavan think-tank and the small band of hard-core travelling support had begun. Great Expectations might have signalled Cavan's opening salvos in 2006 but by year's end it was very much a case of Hard Times for all concerned with the Breffni camp as they tipped the forelock to Antrim. County boss Martin McElkennon decided he'd rather move away from team management and by the season's end he was coach to the Monaghan footballers. A new era for Cavan football once again loomed on the horizon. Cavan's line up against Antrim in the Tommy Murphy Cup quarter-final was as follows; Colm Anderson; Dermot McGlade, Cathal Collins, Keith Fannin; Martin Cahill, M Hannon, Mark McKeever; Enda King, Lorcan Mulvey (0-1); Sean Brady (0-1, '45), Anthony Forde, Ronan Flanagan; Ciaran Galligan, Eddie Reilly (1-1), Sean Johnston (1-6, two frees). Subs; Michael Brides for Dermot McGlade; Raymond Galligan for Ciaran Galligan; Raymond Cullivan for Lorcan Mulvey. Tweet

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