Cavan's U21 footballers reached the Hastings Cup final but that was as good as it got for Thomas Jackson's charges in 2007. Promising early-season form counted for little as they were well beaten by Monaghan in the first round of the Ulster championship, spelling the break-up of this particular crop of players. There's always a certain sadness at the end of an U21 campaign. Chances are, the group of players concerned will never be together on a training pitch again. When the break-up is abrupt, its terminal nature can be even more profound. Such was the case for Cavan's U21 footballers in 2007, when a season that started out full of promise came to a sudden, unexpected end. Thomas Jackson's players had impressed in the preparatory Hastings Cup, storming through to the final, but - despite a promising start on the day - they were no match for neighbours Monaghan when the knockout season began in earnest. Adding to the sense of dejection were rumours at national level that this might be the last-ever county U21 championship. If such was to be the case, then Cavan had bowed out on an inglorious note… On St Patrick's Day '07, the Breffni Blues were comprehensively beaten by an effective Monaghan side at Clones, 1-12 to 0-7. With that result, their year ended. Full stop, After all the hard work that went into preparing the team - from both management and players - it was an unsatisfactory way for the season to unfurl. But the best team won on the day and the losers could have no complaints. For the second successive year, Cavan had failed to win a game in the Ulster U21 championship. Four months of preparations - including a series of challenges as well as the Hastings Cup involvement - went out the window when the Breffni side imploded after a decent first-half showing. Granted, they were missing Ramor's Anton Reilly and Kingscourt's Alan Clarke for the Monaghan match, but they were still expected to perform better. The sense of disappointment amongst players, management, officials and supporters at the final whistle was palpable. Conditions at St Tiarnach's Park were far from ideal on Paddy's Day. Accordingly, the attendance was on the small side. The Breffni side went into the game with high hopes of success. However, on the day, they turned in a thoroughly inept display. The squad had been preparing meticulously for this competition since before Christmas, by way of training, challenge games and the aforementioned Hastings Cup tournament (overcoming Roscommon, Longford and Leitrim on their way to that decider) but their year would end in back-to-back defeats at the hands of Roscommon (a narrow reversal in the Hastings decider) and Monaghan (a more clear-cut verdict in their biggest test of the year). The Ulster championship match was a low-key affair, where the quality of fare was far from breathtaking. Cavan were still in contention seven minutes into the second-half, when trailing by just two points, but the Monaghan management made a number of changes which strengthened their team and had the desired effect. When their right corner forward Conor McManus got though for a 38th-minute goal to make it 1-6 to 0-4, Cavan's fate was sealed. Cavan's response was sluggish and the team only managed three points in the entire second half. Unfortunately, many of the main men in the side failed to rise to the occasion, while talented young Ballyhaise midfielder/corner forward Ray Cullivan carried an injury into battle, which obviously curtailed his ability to influence proceedings. But those are the breaks of championship football and, excuses aside, it was a disappointing display from a group that carried high hopes into the provincial eliminator. The sides were deadlocked at 0-4 apiece at half time but re-jigged Monaghan were a much brighter team on the restart and the game's only goal plus five successive points served to put the issue beyond doubt even though Cullivan added a late brace of Cavan points. Full forward Raymond Galligan notched Cavan's first two points from frees, while midfielder Michael McDonald and wing forward Martin Reilly closed their first-half account. Apart from Cullivan, fourth quarter substitute Aaron Duignan was Cavan's only other scorer. Cavan had prepared purposefully for the championship. They had done well in all outings ahead of the knockout but knew Monaghan's starting XV would be laced with intercounty senior talent. Injury concerns around Drumalee's Enda McCormack (who would only make an appearance off the bench) and star man Cullivan also disrupted their preparations. For the second successive year, Cavan had reached the final of the Hastings Cup, which they lost to Roscommon at the Longford Slashers ground on Saturday February 17. Beaten by Longford in the 2006 Hasting decider, they made a winning start to the tournament in early January when they defeated Roscommon by 0-13 to 0-9 at Our Lady of Lourdes Park, Mullahoran in conditions which didn't help to create entertaining football. Versatile Killygarry clubman Martin Reilly proved the key player in Cavan's next win, over Longford, also at the Mullahoran venue. The Killygarry player scored 1-5 in the team's 1-10 to 1-7 victory. They also defeated Leitrim by 0-11 to 0-7 in a competitive contest at St Aidan's Park in Templeport on Saturday January 22 and, thus, were the only side to remain unbeaten in the group stages of the competition. A narrow defeat ensued but that did little to dampen confidence ahead of the Ulster championship. With county seniors Ray Cullivan, Martin Reilly and Cian Mackey at their disposal, Cavan appeared to have a strong U21 combo available to them in 2007. But things simply didn't work out according to plan… The Cavan U21 panel announced in December 2006 for the 2007 season was: Enda Gaffney (Crosserlough), Darragh Gaffney (Drumalee), Aaron Duignan (Kildallan), Adrian Taite (Cuchulainns), Andrew Smith (Cornafean), Colin Lynch (Crosserlough), Cormac Geoghegan (Cornafean), Dane O'Dowd (Drumlane), Declan Gallon (Killygarry), Dermot Sheridan (Mullahoran); Emmett Madden (Gowna), Enda McCormick (Drumalee), Fergal Slowey (Ballyhaise), Fionbar Jordan (Lavey), Gearoid Collins (Cavan Gaels), John Cunningham (Swanlinbar), Cillian Lynch (Cuchulainns), Liam Duignan (Cornafean), Michael Meehan (Cavan Gaels), Paraic Smith (Castlerahan), Ray Cullivan (Ballyhaise), Raymond Galligan (Lacken), Sean Higgins (Cavan Gaels), Sean McCormack (Ballyhaise), Simon Delaney (Killinkere), Thomas Brady (Mountnugent), Alan Clarke (Kingscourt), Anton Reilly (Ramor Utd.), Cian Mackey (Castlerahan), Declan McCabe (Crosserlough), Martin Reilly (Killygarry), Michael McDonald (Drumgoon), Pauric Reilly (Ballinagh) and Ronan Flanagan (Castlerahan). The following side was on championship duty against Monaghan: Simon Delaney; Fergal Slowey, Pauric Reilly, Declan McCabe; Fionbar Jordan, Dermot Sheridan, Cormac Geoghegan; Michael McDonald (0-1), John Cunningham; Martin Reilly (0-1), Ronan Flanagan, Cian Mackey; Raymond Cullivan (0-1), Raymond Galligan (0-2), Gearoid Collins. Subs: Liam Duignan, Enda McCormack, Aaron Duignan (0-1) Tweet

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