Official Cavan GAA Thread

[Westside]

Tough on Dara but them's the breaks. There's more to life than football and I'd say he's had a great year travelling which will hopefully take the sting out of not being there. This squad has lots of time for more silverware and if he comes back into the fold he'll be a welcome addition, a beast of player. Hopefully he will complete his set of Ulster medals and get a Senior Championship medal too before his day is done.

[armaghniac]

There's more to life than football and I'd say he's had a great year travelling

I can't think of a year less suitable for travelling.

[Itchy]

There's more to life than football and I'd say he's had a great year travelling

I can't think of a year less suitable for travelling.

The two boys were in Australia when it all kicked off.

[Westside]

There's more to life than football and I'd say he's had a great year travelling

I can't think of a year less suitable for travelling.

The two boys were in Australia when it all kicked off.

And they had already been travelling for months at that stage.

[Look-Up!]

I think at this stage the county is starting to come down now from the highs of last week and focus now on the juggernaut that is Dublin.
Personally I'm looking forward to it and am confident we will give a good account of ourselves.
This group of lads have improved game by game and good and all as they were against Donegal I think there is scope for more improvement. I think we have shown we have plenty of power and aggression and a great team spirit forged over the last few games. We need to work on shot selection and execution, maybe a bit more discipline in defence too but Rome wasn't built in a day.
So onto the Dubs. Not a lot to say about them that hasn't already been said. They are a level above anyone at the moment and every player plays to the maximum. Mentally they can push players to places where they don't want to be and most give up and tap out. But begging for mercy is futile as Meath found out. This Dublin team doesn't do mercy, they will rub your face in it.
So it's going to be very uncomfortable for us for large periods next Saturday but it's very important we draw a line in the sand and dig in. There's no point getting hung up on the scoreboard either. We need to stay as a unit, work our balls off for each other, stay invested in the game and make the hard yards whether it be tracking the runners or covering for lads caught out of position. No such thing as a lost cause. The performance is the most important thing and we need to deliver for 70 mins regardless of what the score line is. Here's hoping and wishing all the best of luck and looking forward to seeing a performance from this Cavan team that will stand them for years to come.

[Denn Forever]

Ain't no disgrace there. Better team won. 

[Itchy]

Ain't no disgrace there. Better team won.

I wouldnt use the term disgrace but I was a little disappointed with our display, mostly in the first half. The second half the Dubs superior S&C, athleticism and power were always going to move them away from us. We coughed up at least 4 points due to just really poor unforced errors and that's something we didn't do against Donegal. So I think we were a little below our performance in the Ulster final but up against a far superior team than Donegal.

I do think Ciaran Brady was brilliant and put his hand up there for an All Star, Same with Ray Galligan. Thomas Galligan might not be the cert everyone thought he was through no fault of his own, as he was left at FF where he got no decent supply. Thought it was very unfair of SKY to show his stats versus Fenton. Sure they might as well of compared Ray Galligan to Fenton. Thomas was not competing against him. I think we might get 2 All Stars, 3 a big stretch.

So once the Dubs wipe the floor with whoever they get in the final, our boys can see that they did rightly in that game and can be seriously proud of what they achieved. Winning Ulster from the preliminary round, 4 weeks in a row and beating 2 Division 1 team along the way is fair going. Next we really need to get out of Div 3 right away cos you need to be playing better standards of teams if you want to stay at the top. I also hope that some of the lads that are soldiering for a long time like martin reilly and Gearoid give it another year or two before hanging up their boots.

[marty34]

Ain't no disgrace there. Better team won.

I wouldnt use the term disgrace but I was a little disappointed with our display, mostly in the first half. The second half the Dubs superior S&C, athleticism and power were always going to move them away from us. We coughed up at least 4 points due to just really poor unforced errors and that's something we didn't do against Donegal. So I think we were a little below our performance in the Ulster final but up against a far superior team than Donegal.

I do think Ciaran Brady was brilliant and put his hand up there for an All Star, Same with Ray Galligan. Thomas Galligan might not be the cert everyone thought he was through no fault of his own, as he was left at FF where he got no decent supply. Thought it was very unfair of SKY to show his stats versus Fenton. Sure they might as well of compared Ray Galligan to Fenton. Thomas was not competing against him. I think we might get 2 All Stars, 3 a big stretch.

So once the Dubs wipe the floor with whoever they get in the final, our boys can see that they did rightly in that game and can be seriously proud of what they achieved. Winning Ulster from the preliminary round, 4 weeks in a row and beating 2 Division 1 team along the way is fair going. Next we really need to get out of Div 3 right away cos you need to be playing better standards of teams if you want to stay at the top. I also hope that some of the lads that are soldiering for a long time like martin reilly and Gearoid give it another year or two before hanging up their boots.

Fair points.

Cavan carried the ball into tackles a lot and got coughed up and  quickly punished at the other end.

In hindsight, apart from league, it's been a good year for Cavan.  Need to get promotion next year to keep things going.  Could be trickier than you think though.  Everybody will have their number now.

Next year will be a biiger year and questions will be asked.  We'll see how Cavan respond.

[Westside]

Thomas Galligan probably needed a better performance yesterday to get his All Star. Wasn't his fault though really, poor supply and isolated in a full forward line that the ball wasn't being let into. He should still get one based on the Ulster Championship. He's played 5 games and been outstanding in 4 of them, that's more than Mayo will play this year. It should be himself and Ray IMO. I think Ray's performance yesterday sealed his All Star. Wouldn't be surprised to see Ray and Faulkner pick them up.

League very important next year. Need to keep Gearoid, Martin Reilly and Ray Galligan. Hopefully nobody younger will opt out. If we can back up that Ulster Championship with a league title, even if it's Division 3, it will be a big boost.
Am I right in saying we will be playing Longford, Fermanagh and Derry? That won't be simple...

[Look-Up!]

Ok performance. Some of the lads were outstanding most notably Holla and Faulkner. Kick outs were excellent. In fairness a good few of our lads played well. A few more held their own. There were a couple who were off the speed of how Dublin operate, no shame in that. A few of our lads hid though for whatever reason and against a team like Dublin you absolutely cannot afford passengers.
We competed as best we could for long spells but Dublin were patient, brought us out to deeper water and eventually we succumbed. Death by a thousand cuts is a phrase I've heard mentioned. I think it's pretty apt.
One thing however that I was bitterly disappointed in was panel selection and substitutions. How can a lad who hasn't been involved show up once on final training session and not only remove a player who has worked their socks off all year from the 26, but to then be brought on against Dublin when they clearly weren't fit to walk. That final substitution was effectively like a red card for us at a time when we were out on our feet and needed fresh legs and energy. Absolutely disgraceful. All this talk of moral and team building, I'd be surprised to see Buchanan in a blue jersey again. A few more who deserved a run for their hard work and play all year must also be scratching their heads. Club politics has no business on an IC setup!!!!!

[Itchy]

Final substitution was Stephen Smith or did I miss one?

[Look-Up!]

Substitution with 15 to go.

[Itchy]

Substitution with 15 to go.

You talking about Niall Murray?

Sure Niall came on in every game in the Ulster Championship I think. Not sure what your gripe with that is. If the lad was part of the panel and is injured he is still part of the panel and for a fella that couldnt walk he made a superb block at one point against the Dubs.

Anyway, for me Mickey Graham has earned the stripes to do whatever he thinks is right and supporters should surely be trusting his judgement know, given that he has got us to  2 ulster finals in a row and won one. I would also point out to you that he even dropped his own brother from the 26 man panel so it is hard to argue there is some sort of club bias going on. I am sure Liam Buchanan and some others are disappointed but lets be honest, a big lad like him is not suited to Croke park against the Dubs. He has a way to go with his fitness which he had lost control of. He will stick at it and get there I am sure.

[Cavan19]

Substitution with 15 to go.

Why can you not just come out and say it ?

I presume it is Conor Brady he is on about.

[Itchy]

Substitution with 15 to go.

Why can you not just come out and say it ?

I presume it is Conor Brady he is on about.

Well Niall came on after 46 minutes I think so maybe you are right.