Cavan Gaels are the undisputed bluebloods of football in the Breffni County. As is their wont, the county town outfit once again dominated a raft of domestic competitions in '07. A new broom swept into place in Cavan Gaels in '07 but the cupboard there retained its magnetic properties as the Oliver Plunkett cup was just one of a number of top prizes collected during the past year by the county town club. Former Fermanagh county star Malachy O'Rourke succeeded Monaghan's Gerry McCarville in the hot seat and brought Leo McBride along with him as trainer as the senior team set about getting another crack at the Ulster club title. O'Rourke came to Cavan with a vaunted reputation having proven his worth with The Loup from Derry and Tyrone kingpins Errigal Ciaran. Club Secretary Mark Gillick turned selector and slowly but surely a familiar story emerged as the three wise men got to work with their charges. And by the time the leaves were falling off the trees around Terry Coyle Park, the Oliver Plunkett Cup had blue and white garlands attached. A case of deja vu?. Certainly as matters unfolded, the feeling of 'we've been here before' seemed to wash across the bows of the new championship format as the action began. Should we have been surprised that the county town side meandered their way last October to their ninth senior final in ten years and to, thereupon, hit the jackpot? Granted the pre-championship favourites had flattered to deceive over the course of the campaign and their passage was certainly more pedestrian than powerful. But the winners-elect seemed to play within themselves all the time and the facts are that they did all they needed to do to notch the club's 9th blue riband Cavan football title. In truth, the 2007 Cavan SFC was liberally laced with much of the old predicabilities which has enveloped recent campaigns despite the absense of quite so many safety nets. When the Gaels were drawn against 2003 SFC winners Gowna in the opening round last July, it had all the makings of a dress rehearsal . . . .and so it proved. Gowna's form in the league in the run-up to the match at Kingspan/Breffni Park had been on the up quite substantially on their early season performances. The only problem was that Cavan Gaels were singing the same old tune and were once again topping the table with just one defeat to their name. Pre-match speculation suggested that headquarters would likely suit the younger, faster Gaels side but Gowna's hunger and football nous would hold them in good stead. Minus US-based Seanie Johnston, the Gaels' attack wasn't expected to carry the same collective threat, sceptics mooted. For his part, outgoing club PRO Philip Finnegan maintains the blues had welcomed the fact that they had been drawn against the competition's third favourites: "It was a game we wanted," Finnegan declared. "We felt the earlier in the competition we got the likes of Gowna the better. "We knew that to win the title again, we'd have to beat the best there was out there and Gowna were right up there with the best of them so why not meet them early on?" The clash between the titans was to be an eventful, controversial and not altogether pleasant affair which saw a 1-8 draw, first day out, overshadowed by the goings-on in the replay. There had been no indication in the drawn game that matters would turn so unpalatable one week later as a last-minute point by Gerald Pierson salvaged a draw for long-time leaders Gowna. Gerald Pierson's goal propelled Gowna into a 1-4 to 0-2 lead and things got even better for them with two further points leaving Cavan Gaels seven adrift at half-time. The Gaels, spurred on by substitute Micheal Lyng, came roaring back to nick a 1-8 to 1-7 lead with three minutes left to play. But Pierson came good again with a cooly-taken point to make it all-square for the final time in the game. Incidents during and after Cavan Gaels' 2-14 to 3-8 win in the replay served to cloud the competition in acrimony temporarily and left a sour taste in the mouths of players from both camps. The Gaels did most of their best work on the field of play in the first half with the Gaels' Sean Higgins - one of seven Gaels' players to score - rifling over a hat-trick of frees inside the opening five minutes. At the end of the first half, the Gaels held a handsome 1-10 to 1-3 lead with a 22nd minute goal from Sean Higgins proving to be a huge leg-up. The second half was a much more evenly-balanced, feisty and full-blooded affair with Gowna scoring 1-3 in the first seven minutes to really put the cat amongst the pidgeons. However with the experienced pair of Cathal Collins and Eamon Reilly battening down the hatch, the Gaels remained composed as they worked to hold onto their 2-12 to 3-7 lead. And despite finding themselves down to 12 men with Karl Crotty, Sean Reilly and Sean Higgins dismissed at various intervals, the Gaels just about held on. "That was another day when the leaders on the team stood up and were counted," says the aforementioned Finnegan. "Once again the team showed that they could dig deep and that they had enough experience to come good, expecially when the heat was really turned up." Cavan Gaels went onto meet Ramor United at Kingspan/Breffni Park in the quarter-final and duly emerged 1-12 to 0-8 victors with a goal by Enda King 12 minutes from the end crucial in determining the outcome of the match. At the end of a low-scoring first half, the eventual winners led by 0-6 to 0-3 but laboured thereafter to shake off their gritty opponents on the restart. With just over twelve minutes remaining in the game, Ramor trailed by 0-7 to 0-8 but then a free from Cormac Nelligan was finished to the net by King and that was essentially that. "Again we found ourselves living on the edge," Finnegan recalls. "That bit of killer instinct was missing on the day and it was just as well that Enda got his goal when he did." Experience was again the word on everyone's lips when the Gaels proceeded to overcome Belturbet by 0-14 to 1-8 in the semi-final of the championship at Kingspan/Breffni Park. Both players were to make significant contributions with Johnston notching seven points (four frees) and Lyng doing very well when introduced nine minutes from half-time. By that stage Belturbet were down to 14 men with the Gaels 0-6 to 0-4 in front. With 40 minutes on the clock, there was still two points between the sides (0-8 to 0-6) but the Gaels stretched their lead to six points inside the following ten minutes. However with seven minutes left to play Belturbet sprung a lifeline thanks to a goal but that was as good as it got for them. By dint of their win over Belturbet, Cavan Gaels went head to head once more with Gowna who were appearing in their first Cavan SFC final since 2002. The Gaels entered the fray with a typical swagger and at the end of a gripping encounter duly won out by 0-15 to 0-11. Once again the Gaels' leading lights were to the fore with Sean Johnston's brace of timely points in a 90 seconds spell late in the game pivotal in swinging the pendulum the Gaels' way at the death. Prior to Johnston's double whammy, Gowna were just two points adrift, 0-10 to 0-12, and looked to have the impetus and the momentum to go on and at least gain parity. However after Mark McKeever, from a 47 metre free, and Ciaran Brady jnr saw efforts at goal go wide, Johnston pounced in the 51st and 53nd minutes to give the 2005 champions just the breathing space they needed to go on and reclaim the Oliver Plunkett Cup. Gowna were dealt a blow when talisman Dermot McCabe limped off with an ankle injury just 16 minutes into the match - some 12 minutes after he first required attention. Two first half points by overlapping half-back Pauric Smith epitomised the winners' impressive pace, movement and support play and, in truth, Gowna were a poor second in those aspects of play. The winners-elect enjoyed a clear territorial advantage in the first half and were mostly economic with their forays forward. They led by 0-6 to 0-2 after 19 minutes and their fans must have been hoping that they would have kicked on from there. The Gaels began the second half 0-9 to 0-4 in front in front and although Gowna cut their deficit to three points, 0-7 to 0-10, six minutes into the second half, the Gaels regained the initiative two minutes later when a brillant six-man move ended with impressive sub. Sean Higgins pointing. Another two wides followed for Gowna before Johnston's brace all but put the issue to bed. Three minutes later the final whistle materialised, leaving all belonging to Cavan Gaels to celebrate their 9th SFC success and leave the rest of Cavan wondering just how they might arrest the ongoing dominancy of the county town club. The Cavan Gaels players who lined out against Gowna in the 2007 SFC final were as follows: Eoghan Elliott; Darren Rabbitt, Cathal Collins, Shane McGlade; Gavin Duffy, Eamon Reilly, Pauric Smith (0-2); Enda King, Nicholas Walsh; Kevin Downes (0-2), Anthony Forde, Paul O'Donnell (0-2); Mickey Graham, Sean Johnston (0-6, four frees), Michael Lyng (0-1). Subs; Sean Higgins (0-2) for Mickey Graham; Cormac Nelligan for Kevin Downes. League While things went belly-up once more in the Ulster club arena with defeat to Antrim's St. Gall's, the Gaels again had the bit between their teeth by the time the ACFL Division One final clash with Gowna came around on November 24th. As things panned out, the Gaels made it four wins and one draw in their five head-to-head meetings with Gowna in 2007 by clinching the ACFL Division One crown with a 0-8 to 0-5 win after a fractious final at Lacken. In an action replay of last month's SFC final, the county town side showed their mettle once again, meeting steel with steel before emerging narrow but deserving victors. A litany of yellow cards coloured the exchanges but only one red saw the light of day with Gaels dynamo Gavin Duffy the odd man out with two yellows sending him packing three minutes before the end of the first half. In an archetypal stop-start opening moiety, Gowna staggered rather than galloped into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead after 13 minutes. It was Anthony Forde's 17th minute point which relieved the early siege for the eventual winners and then after Ciaran Brady made it 0-4 to 0-1 for the early leaders, the county ace notched a morale-boosting second point. The dismisal of Gavin Duffy in the 26th minute gave Gowna a noticeable psychological lift but Gowna crawled rather than steamed their way to a 0-5 to 0-3 interval lead. To their credit, Cavan Gaels refused to look their red and green gift horse in the mouth and with Cathal Collins and Nicholas Walsh securing a distinct advantage in the cockpit and the would-be winners' half-back line and Forde on top of their form, the omens were looking good for the blues. The Gaels had the initiative now and their momentum was added to by the introduction in the 39th minute of Railway Cup star Sean Johnston. Johnston's presence alone seemed to unnerve Gowna's defence while while the concesssion of rash fouls gave Lyng and Forde the chances to slot over a point apiece. The final quarter had a touch of the inevitable about it as Lyng's free levelled matters at 0-5 apiece and then Pauric Smith pressed for the guillotine to be enabled and his 50th minute point eased the Gaels into the lead, 0-6 to 0-5, for the first time in the match. Cavan Gaels eyed the chequered flag with increasing confidence by now and as Gowna were left frustrated by their limitations up front. Anthony Forde fired over a free in the 52nd minute as Gowna reeled on the ropes and though they refused to throw in the towel, Sean Johnston's classy effort two minutes from the bell left Gowna counted out. Cavan Gaels v Gowna (ACFL Div. 1 final); Eoghan Elliott; Joe Dunne, Darren Rabbitte, Shane McGlade; Karl Crotty, Eamonn Reilly, Pauric Smith (0-1); Cathal Collins, Nicholas Walsh; Gavin Duffy, Anthony Forde (0-4), Micheal Lyng (0-2); Sean Higgins, Cormac Nelligan, Enda King. Sub; Sean Johnston (0-1) for Cormac Nelligan; Levi Murphy for Sean Higgins. Second team The club's second string enjoyed a similar dividend by dint of their division three league campaign with promotion to division two secured thanks, in part, to an autumnal 0-11 to 1-6 win over fellow promotion hopefuls Cornafean. In what was an exciting top-of-the-table clash, the Gaels produced a very competent performance on a day far from condusive to open, flowing football. The Gaels won despite conceding a goal in the 11th minute which propelled the homesters into a 1-2 to 0-2 lead. However the county town side responded in positive fashion to their concession of the shock goal and a point apiece by Ciaran Flynn and Levi Murphy left just the minimum separating the sides with 23 minutes on the clock. As things panned out, the writing began to look all the more clear on the wall for Cornafean as Ciaran Flynn cut Cornafean's lead to the minimum, 0-5 to 1-3, on the half-hour. Things very nearly got much worse for Cornafean just three minutes into the second half but after Levi Murphy was fouled in the square, the Cornafean 'keeper made a terrific save from Sean Higgins' subsequent penalty award. Ciaran Flynn fired over the following '45 resulting from Smith's save to tie the scores though and then the Gaels banged over three unanswered points to make it 0-9 to 1-3 in their favour with 41 minutes on the clock. Cornafean regrouped though and hit a purple patch between the 43rd and 56th minutes with two points levelling matters. The Gaels decided to reshuffle their personnel at that juncture and the introduction of messrs. Downes and Reilly helped their cause greatly from there to the close of business. In fact it was Downes who fired over the insurance point one minute from time and just 90 seconds after Levi Murphy rifled over a fine 40 yard free to edge the visitors back in front by a single point. And that was where the Gaels stayed, on 17 points. Four more points were subsequently collected in the campaign leaving the team sporting 21 points from their 12 games played which proved more than adequate to seal their passage through to division two. Cavan Gaels v Cornafean (ACFL Div. 3 in Cornafean); Mark Reilly; Dallan McCormack, John Reilly, Shane McGlade; Joe Dunne, Padraig Byrne, Gearoid Collins (0-1); Ed O'Hanlon, Joe Kenny: Sean Higgins (0-1), Tommy McCormack, Michael Meehan; Stephen Maguire, Levi Murphy (0-3), Ciaran Flynn (0-5). Subs; Kevin Downes (0-1) for Stephen Maguire; Dominic Reilly for Michael Meehan. "The lads deserved to get promotion and it was no surprise that they managed to do so," Philip Finnegan comments. "They've all come up through the ranks and you can see by the commitment that they give that they see their success as maybe a stepping stone towards playing regularly with the senior team which is a great incentive for them. "Division two will be a much higher standard for them and, personally, I'm not so sure whether it's a good thing for them or for Cavan football but we'll see how it goes." Minors Meanwhile back in the first week of October, on the same day, the Gaels clinched the SFC title, the club's minors annexed yet another MFC title with a facile 5-15 to 1-5 win over Lurgan in a repeat of the 2006 county decider. The day was a personal triumph for man-of-the-match Martin Dunne who notched 3-6 of his side's tally in a game described by Philip as a "mis-match". The game was over as a contest after less than 14 minutes by which time the winners-elect had cantered into a 3-4 to 0-1 lead with the goals coming from Conor McClarey, Kevin Meehan and the aforementioned Dunne. There was nothing but pride to play for from Lurgan's perspective in the second half as they sought to prevent Cavan Gaels from doubling their 3-9 to 0-2 interval lead. "The minors were a class apart," Philip recalls. "They were in control from start to finish, were head and shoulders over Lurgan and showed a real killer instinct. "That was the club's ninth minor championship title in the last ten years and victory also in the minor league left us with a similar record in that competition too." Cavan Gaels (v Lurgan MFC final); Michael Coyle; Patrick Heslin, Niall Gurhy, Damien Kelleher; Christopher Quinn (0-1), Mark Leddy, Liam Cooke (0-1); Daniel Graham, Declan Meehan; Niall Smith (0-2), Niall Murray (0-1), Kevin Meehan (1-2); Conor McClarey (1-2), Martin Dunne (3-6), Robert Maloney. Subs used; James Malone, Raymond Murray, Cormac Donnelly, Cian O'Donoghue. The following month, the Gaels' minor squad completed yet another double when they handed amalgam Parnells a 2-13 to 2-4 defeat under lights at Mullahoran. The winners did most of their best work in the first half, leading by 2-4 to 0-2 at the interval with Kevin Meehan and Conor McClarey bagging the goals. Despite having a player sent off in the 21st minute, the leaders went onto consolidate their advantage and with 18 minutes left to play, they led by 2-11 to 0-2. Sadly the Ulster club campaign didn't go so well thereafter with defeat to crack Derry side - and eventual winners - Kilrea scuppering their provincial title hopes. By the end of September, the Gaels were on the trail of a Junior 'B' Championship title with a titanic semi-final win, after a replay, against Crosserlough easing their path. "The team showed a lot of character in the first place to get to the final," Philip explains. "Crosserlough were by far the better team in the drawn game and with ten minutes to go in the game they were seven points up and looking as if they would coast it home. "Then we got two quick points and a goal which helped get us out of jail and, in the replay, we made no mistake beating them fairly easily by 1-12 to 1-7 in Crosskeys." The final in Kingscourt brought the Gaels head-to-head with Castlerahan, surprise conquerors of the Gaels in the Under 21 championship decider. A 7th minute penalty conversion by Martin Dunne helped ease the Gaels into a 1-3 to 0-0 leadand when Conor McClarey fired over a majestical point in the 18th minute to put the Gaels 1-5 to 0-1 in front, an air of inevitability began to waft its way over proceedings. To their credit, Castlerahan fought back and had cut their deficit to a mere point, 0-7 to 1-5, at the interval. Despite a spurned penalty award, the Gaels proceeded to re-assert themselves with the aforementioned Dunne bringing his personal tally eventually up to 2-5 for the hour. The killer blow came in the final five minutes when a long ball from the impressive Alan O'Riordan found Dunne in the clear and the coup de grace was duly administered to help the Gaels home on a scoreline of 2-10 to 0-7. Mullahoran was the venue later that month for the Gaels' 0-9 to 0-3 victory over Arva in the Junior 'D' Football Championship final. The county town side led from pillar to post and led by 0-5 to 0-1 at the interval with points from Paul Flynn, Richie Graham, Damien O'Connor, Gerard Reilly and Donagh Reilly. The Gaels dominated possession but a 15 wides tally, compared to Arva's four, told a tale about the team's efforts at polishing off some good approach play. The second half was an equally low-scoring affair with Johnny Graham and Mark Leddy adding a brace each to sew up the game for the blues. Cavan Gaels v Arva (Junior D Championship final); Niall O'Riordan; Patrick Graham, Mark McNamara, Darren Smith; Donal Farrelly, Damien O'Connor (0-1), Anthony Quinn; Donagh Reilly (0-1), Leigh Jackson; Ronan Farrelly, Johnny Graham (0-2), Gerard Reilly (0-1); Paul Flynn (0-1), Richie Graham (0-1), Shane Craig. Subs used; Niall Smith, Mark Leddy (0-2). "Success breeds success," says the aforementioned Finnegan. But as our under 21s found, and our chairman Aidan Elliott said at the AGM, your rating can go down just as quickly as it went up so we won't be taking anything for granted as the 2008 season gets up and running." Gowna, Cootehill Celtic, Kildallan etc etc you have been warned! Tweet

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