Mattie Kerrigan made his bow in 2002 as Cavan's senior football team-manager. Breffni Blue feels, on balance, that his maiden voyage had more positives than negatives about it. 2002 was a bit like the curate's egg for Cavan's senior footballers. There were good and bad bits to behold. A first national league final place since 1960 augured well for the team's tilt at Ulster's blue-riband championship title but Donegal destroyed all such fanciful notions. In the heel of the hunt, it seemed as if the team fell between two stools. So what of Cavan's current standing on football's metaphorical stock exchange? Has its share price gone up any over the past 12 months of has its rating slipped? What dividend, if any, can the Breffni Blues hope to garner from Mattie Kerrigan's first year at the helm? In making a judgement of the Cavan camp in 2002, one supposes a lot depends on high a valuation we're prepared to put on a league final position, especially when juxtaposed beside a very poor return in the blue chip championship arena. Over the years, Cavan football has always relied on a potent mix of passion, pride and a certain directness in their play (interrupted in part during Martin McHugh's reign) to overcome the more refined blue chip counties. In 2002 Cavan hadn't nearly the right mix; being humbled by aristocratic Tyrone in the National League final and allowing Limerick's artists, nay artisans, to draw blood, second time around, in the championship, fatally wounding Mattie Kerrigan's outfit in the process. It's significant that the Cavan team-management themselves acknowledged at season's end that it would have been better had the team's sojourn in the championship not been sacrificed on the altar of, granted, a more than decent league run. But since when has any think-tank team ever tried to consciously break the momentum of their team? Certainly, very few Cavan fans were shouting halt when their favourites were shooting down Down, cutting Clare to pieces and demolishing Derry's smugness on home soil.Cavan's 1-15 to 1-10 away win against the Oak Leaf county in their Division 1B opener posted notice of the blues' intentions. It was Cavan's first win over Derry since the Ulster championship final in 1997. Omens, though, aren't always good. Still, at that juncture, the grit and steely resolve which marked the team out as Kerrigan's prototype for success was again manifest in Cavan's 0-16 to 0-14 win against Fermanagh in the following round. However thereafter Cavan's subsequent defeats to Mayo (2-12 to 2-14) and Kildare (1-9 to 1-12) highlighted the sort of imperfections in the team for which mentors like Kerrigan earn their crust in removing. Cavan's cavalier ride towards spitting distance of the National League trophy must have come as a glimpse of a distant past for the seasoned veterans among the hard-core support for it was a source of annoyance and frustration to many proud Cavan gaels that for all their county's dominance of the Ulster championship scene back in the fifties and sixties, only one national league title was secured over the course of that extended period. That was in season 1949/50 when Meath were beaten in the decider. By the half-way mark of their Division 1B campaign, Cavan looked a settled, confident crew. Under the mercurial Meathman, the Breffni Blues appeared to have found a nice blend of the best of the old style game and the more efficient parts of the modern game. Whereas Val Andrews erased a lot of the short-passing from Cavan's play as he gradually re-built the side on taking over from McHugh, Meathman Kerrigan more or less left well alone apart from perhaps instilling a more aggressive, no-nonsense type attitude among the players. For the most part though, Cavan presented a steely determination in every sector and an almighty jagged edge in front of goal - goal being the operative word when they met Roscommon in the NFL semi-final at Cusack Park, Mullingar on April 14th. In what was arguably Cavan seniors' best display since their 1997 Ulster final victory over Derry, the John Tobin-managed westerners' challenge was simply blown out of the water, the 5-13 to 3-12 final scoreline just about reflecting Cavan's superiority in front of a 13,000 capacity crowd. Cavan's trip to their first national league final since 1960 saw the blues produce a phenomenal first half display in particular against Roscommon. Everything seemed to fall into place for the Breffni Blues against the Primrose and Blue. The team demonstrated an obvious superiority in fitness, skill, cohesion and finishing power. The strength and control demonstrated by the midfield pairing of Cathal Collins and Pierce McKenna was a real bonus and, of course, the guillotine sharpness of players like Jason Reilly, Mickey Graham and the Reilly brothers, Larry and Peter, a joy to behold. The opening minutes of the game were simply breathtaking with three goals in a four minute spell, the first two in the space of two minutes. After only 38 seconds, full-forward Jason O'Reilly had the ball in the Roscommon net following a long ball from Larry Reilly. With the Cavan fans scarcely able to draw breadth, the ball was in the net again - this time Cavan's net - after 114 seconds with Roscommon's Jonathan Dunning on target. A Peter Reilly converted penalty in the 14th minute, after Mickey Graham was fouled, helped propel Mattie Kerrigan's men to a 3-8 to 2-5 interval lead, a lead which was duly consolidated with particularly outstanding points being recorded by Paul Galligan and Larry Reilly just before the break. And although Roscommon notched their third goal within two minutes of the restart, that was as good as it got for the Connachtmen, especially when Peter Reilly found himself in the right place at the right time to fire home his second goal and Cavan's fourth in the 41st minute. It was all over for Roscommon thereafter when Mickey Graham scored Cavan's fifth goal in the 55th minute, following a high, lobbing ball from Peter Reilly. Tornado-like Tyrone clatter Cavan' screamed the headlines weeks later as the O'Neill County waltzed their way to a facile 0-16 to 0-7 victory in Clones. Cavan were a huge disappointment in the league final. The team found the step up in class a mite too difficult to handle and, in truth, after just 15 minutes it was obvious Cavan simply weren't up to it. For example, Cavan had only one meaningful attack inside the first 16 minutes by which time they were trailing by 0-0 to 0-5. Tyrone were camped in Cavan's half for about 70% of the first moiety and Mickey Graham and co. arguably sweated more during one of their post-match warm-down sessions than they did in the duel with Tyrone. Cavan were in obvious trouble at half-time, trailing by 0-3 to 0-10 and with no sign of a get-out clause in sight. Sad to say, there were no leaders in blue on the field that day to kick-start a meaningful repost to the Peter Canavan-inspired Tyronemen. The game marked a disappointing end to what had been an impressive rollercoaster national league ride by Cavan. By the close of play, Cavan fans were well and truly confused as to the team's true worth. They were also left wondering what odds from the bookies a body would have gotten on Cavan's full-forward line being kept scoreless? For his part, team-manager Kerrigan took the defeat well and truly on the chin. "Tyrone were the better team and we have no complaints about that. If somebody had told me at the start of the year that we'd be in the league final, I'd have taken it," team-manager Kerrigan told the media in the wake of his team's defeat. Sadly that was to be as good as it got for the Meathman and his charges in 2002. The Cavan crew which faced Tyrone in the 2002 NFL final was as follows; Aaron Donohoe (Beltubet); Eamon Reilly (Cavan Gaels), Thomas Prior (Swanlinbar), Colm Hannon (Drumgoon); Michael Brides (Redhills), Anthony Forde (Shannon Gaels), James Doonan (Cavan Gaels); Pierce McKenna (Kill), Cathal Collins (Cavan Gaels); Paul Galligan (Ballinagh, 0-1), Peter Reilly (Knockbride, 0-1), Finbar O'Reilly (Lacken Celtic, 0-5, all frees); Larry Reilly (Knockbride), Jason O' Reilly (Belturbet), Mickey Graham (Cavan Gaels). NFL RESULTS - February 10 - Derry 1-10 Cavan 1-15; February 17 - Cavan 0-16 Fermanagh 0-14; February 24 ; - Cavan 1-9 Kildare 1-12; March 3 - Mayo 2-14 Cavan 2-12; March 10 - Cavan 0-14 Down 1-8; March 31 - Sligo 0-11 Cavan 1-10; NFL semi-final - April 14 - Cavan 5-13 Roscommon 3-12; NFL final April 28 - Cavan 0-7 Tyrone 0-16. Cavan's 2002 NFL scorers Finbar O'Reilly 0-21; Jason O' Reilly 4-6; Peter Reilly 1-16; Larry Reilly 1-14; Barry McCrudden 0-6; Mickey Graham 0-7; Paul Galligan 0-3; Anthony Forde 0-3 Pearse McKenna 0-3; Gerard Pierson 0-3; Raphael Rogers 0-1; Cormac Nelligan 0-1; James Doonan 0-1; Michael Brides 0-1. The Cavan camp was in understandably philosophical mood after the league final defeat. However the mood was to become much more sombre as the following weeks came and went. As the Cavan boss, the players and supporters made their way from Clones after the Tyrone defeat, they weren't to know that their championship season would be killed at birth a couple of weeks later by a then not very highly rated Donegal side. Donegal simply dismissed Cavan's championship challenge at Breffni Park on May 12th. Cavan's overall performance, much more than their 0-15 to 1-17 defeat gave most cause for concern to their fans. That said, luck wasn't on Cavan's side and an obvious push in the back on full-back Thomas Prior led directly to Donegal's goal by Brian Roper inside the opening three minutes. Donegal proceeded to extend their lead to 1-3 to 0-0 with seven minutes gone and from there on, the home side were left playing a game of catch-up they never really looked like winning unfortunately. Cavan's dependence on Gerald Pierson's accuracy from play and otherwise hallmarked their display on the day. The achievement by the Gowna starlet of scoring ten points was the only really positive thing to emerge from the game from a Cavan perspective. Sadly Pierson's lack of support was damning. Short of fitness and match-practice Dermot McCabe wasn't able to add anything to the cause when introduced for Paul Galligan. However just before half-time, two incidents happened which might have changed things around for Cavan on another day. Firstly, a fine run from Pierce McKenna eventually saw Pierson gain possession but after creating room for himself, the flying half-forward's shot at goal flashed wide. Secondly, just one minute after Pierson's narrow miss, Donegal were reduced to 14 men when right-half forward John Haran was sent off for a tackle off-the-ball. As things transpired Donegal were left sitting pretty on foot of their 1-10 to 0-5 lead at the interval. Cavan battled hard to recover lost ground and points from Barry McCrudden and Gerald Pierson later reduced Cavan's deficit to five points. That was as good as it got though for the homesters even if they did manage to go on and out-score their opponents in the second half. Cavan's despair was compounded by the dismissal of Swad's Thomas Prior some 20 minutes into the second half. "It wasn't a poor decision, it was a harsh decision. It wasn't even a push on the player. He had his hands up in the air and was playing the ball and the Donegal player was backing into him. It was a 50/50 situation. In fact it wasn't even a free," Kerrigan said ruefully as he wearily reflected on the incident which saw Prior receive his second yellow card. The following players did duty against Donegal in the 2002 Ulster SFC first round tie at Breffni Park; Aaron Donohoe (Beltubet); Colm Hannon (Drumgoon), Thomas Prior (Swanlinbar), Darren Rabbitt (Cavan Gaels); Michael Brides (Redhills, 0-2), Anthony Forde (Shannon Gaels), Eamon Reilly (Cavan Gaels); Pierce McKenna (Kill), Cathal Collins (Cavan Gaels); James Doonan (Cavan Gaels), Peter Reilly (Knockbride 0-1), Gerald Pierson (Gowna, 0-10); Larry Reilly (Knockbride, 0-1), Jason Reilly (Belturbet), Paul Galligan (Ballinagh). Still post-Tyrone, post-Donegal, Cavan were at least still in the hunt for Sam - but only just after facing down a tremendously spirited challenge from hosts Limerick in a splendidly contested All-Ireland qualifying (first round) tie at the Gaelic Grounds in front of over 3,000 fans, including some 600 fans from the Breffni County, in mid-June. The game was overshadowed by a serious injury suffered by Cavan's under 21 captain Michael Brides (Redhills) when he broke his leg just 90 seconds into the match. The attacking half-back cum dashing corner forward has been in outstanding form in 2002 and his long-term absence was to have a seriously negative effect on both Cavan's senior and under 21 teams' chances of success. As for the game itself, Cavan began without the help of Mickey Graham who withdrew form the panel in the week beforehand citing pressure of work. Anyway, both sets of fans experienced a rollercoaster ride of emotions with one side and then the other looking poised to celebrate a first round victory. In the end, even extra-time couldn't separate the teams. In ideal playing conditions, a draw always looked the most likely result with the home side just shading things at the end of the first half as they led by 0-7 to 0-5. Cavan were extremely unlucky in the 17th minute when Pierce McKenna fed Finbar O'Reilly but the Cavan attacker's shot flew wide off the butt of the Limerick post. In a relatively poor quality and fractious first half, Cavan also spurned the only other real goal chance of the half when Dermot McCabe ran through the centre of the Limerick defence only to blast the ball wide from 14 yards with Limerick 'keeper Seamus O'Donnell helpless on his line. Cavan were rocked back on their heels just two minutes into the second half when livewire attacker Damien Reidy goaled but with Mattie Kerrigan's men proceeding to play the 'long-ball' to good effect, they put the Shannonsiders on the backfoot thereafter only to hit dud notes through poor markmanship. Limerick dominated midfield for long spells with Irish international basketball player John Galvin and John Quane in fine form and when Quane pointed to put his side 1-10 to 0-7 ahead in the 11th minute of the second half, the Munstermen looked well-positioned to go on and win the match. However Cavan showed admirable resolve, dug deep and in a swift counter attack, Larry Reilly placed a fine shot wide of O'Donnell in the Limerick goal to put just two points between the sides. Cavan failed to build on their opening goal and with Michael Reidy unerring from dead ball situations and Jason Stokes influential at full-forward, Limerick careered into a 1-13 to 1-9 lead with five minutes remaining in the game. A shock goal thereafter though by midfielder and Kill clubman Pierce McKenna after good work by sub. Raphael Rogers and a 37th minute free by Peter Reilly dramatically squared the tie at the end of normal time, 1-13 to 2-10. Extra-time saw tiredness noticeably take its toll and scoring chances were at a premium. Extra time also saw Limerick midfielder John Quane receive his marching orders after eight minutes which appeared to hand Cavan the initiative. However, although early points from Finbar O'Reilly and Gerard Pierson seemed to give Cavan an extra spring in their step, a brilliant 35 yard point by Michael Reidy and a converted free by substitute Stephen Kelly two minutes from the end of extra time saw Limerick secure a hard fought 1-15 to 2-12 draw. Cavan; Aaron Donohoe (Belturbet); Eamon Reilly (Cavan Gaels), Thomas Prior (Swanlinbar), Colm Hannon (Drumgoon); Michael Brides (Redhills), Peter Reilly (Knockbride, 0-1), Anthony Forde (Shannon Gaels); Pierce McKenna (Kill, 1-0), Cathal Collins (Cavan Gaels); James Doonan (Cavan Gaels), Larry Reilly (Knockbride, 1-2), Padraig McCrudden (Ballyhaise); Finbar O'Reilly (Lacken Celtic, 0-4), Dermot McCabe (Gowna, 0-1), Gerard Pierson (Gowna, 0-4). Subs; Paul Galligan (Ballinagh) for Brides (inj); Raphael Rogers (Knockbride) for McCrudden; Barry Corrigan (Drumlane) for O'Reilly; Cormac Nelligan (Cavan Gaels) for Larry Reilly. The replay at sunny Breffni Park the following weekend saw a two goal blast in a ten minute spell midway through the second half catapult Limerick forward in the qualifiers while adding to the woes of Cavan team boss Mattie Kerrigan after a cracking tie. Sad to say, Limerick always looked the more determined and incisive outfit and posted notice of their intention to remain in the hunt for the Sam Maguire when striding into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead after 11 minutes despite having to play against a stiffening breeze. The business-like Munstermen proceeded to hold sway in the first half and it wasn't until the 12th minute that the home side belatedly opened their account when former All-Star Dermot McCabe finished off fine work by Paul Galligan. Losing the midfield battle and struggling to find room up front, Cavan were relying on the counter-attack to inflict damage on their opponents and it was by such means that team-captain Anthony Forde helped their cause by scoring a trademark point in the 22nd minute to help close Cavan's deficit to a single point. The inspirational Limerick captain Michael Reidy restored his side's two point advantage in the 24th minute but, amazingly that was to be the visitors' only point 'till the 20th minute of the second half. In contrast, Cavan proceeded to play their best football in the five minutes either side of the interval during which time they successfully overhauled Limerick's slender advantage as attacking defender Eamon Reilly led the way with a point followed by similar scores by Pierce McKenna and Jason O' Reilly to allow Cavan sport an unlikely 0-6 to 0-5 lead at half-time. Cavan upped the ante immediately on the restart with Larry Reilly pointing and then a trademark left footed long range point from Dermot McCabe in the 11th minute suddenly had Limerick apparently struggling and trailing by 0-5 to 0-8. Wind-assisted and now appearing to awake from their slumber, Limerick patently began to work harder off the ball in an attempt to stem Cavan's rejuvenation and, true to form, it was captain Reidy who led the fightback by setting up Jason Stokes for a goal chance but Cavan 'keeper Aaron Donohoe was alert to make a fine save. Almost immediately from the kick-out, Eamon Reilly charged up field and when his delivery forward wasn't cleared by the Limerick defence, Gerard Pierson showed he had recovered well from injury by firing over a gem of a point in the 17th minute to give his side a 0-10 to 0-5 cushioned lead. Unfortunately, that was as good as it got though for Cavan as Limerick proceeded to dominate in most sectors to the dismay of the Cavan fans in the 3,000-strong crowd. A brilliant goal created by man of the match Michael Reidy and executed by sub. Johnny Murphy in the 20th minute sparked off a thrilling and ultimately successful fightback by Limerick. With Cavan appearing to lose concentration and direction, Limerick pushed forward relentlessly and a fine diagonal pass from Michael Reidy set up Conor Mullane for a wonderful goal in the 25th minute to edge the visitors into a dramatic 2-5 to 0-10 lead. Another finely judged point by the aforementioned Reidy added to Cavan's problems and with John Galvin and John Quane re-inforcing their midfield dominance, it became increasingly obvious that Limerick weren't going to relinquish their lead. And so it proved as Limerick finished with a flourish with a brace of points from Patrick Aherne - after a great piece of fielding by Galvin - and Johnny Murphy putting them 2-8 to 0-10 in front with just four minutes remaining in the game. Cavan threw everything at their opponents in the dying minutes but they never looked like breaking through for the goal they needed to save the day. Instead, a solitary converted free by Finbar Reilly was their sole return. And that was that for Cavan seniors in 2002. It was one hell of a rollercoaster ride for all concerned. No doubt new team-manager Mattie Kerrigan learned an awful lot about his charges, about Cavan's hunger for success, the pieces in the jigsaw that need attending to and need replacing, about the county's passionate support for the cause and their high expectations - expectations which will be no less high in 2003. Tweet

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