Official Cavan GAA Thread

[CC1]

Just want to wish the lads the very best of luck today. They're a great group and some day, maybe not today or the next day, but some day, they will open a lot of eyes around the country. The potential is there, the ability, commitment and mentality are there, that little bit of experience to close games out is what was lacking and that will come.

Hopefully today is that day.

Come on Cavan!

[mylestheslasher]

Unlucky to be 6 down at ht. Pen for donegal foul was outside the box and bud Fitz hit post and cross bar. Lads are fighting hard but some lads seem to be carrying injuries like givney and ronan Flanagan. Hope the lads just stick at it and keep it tight.

[mylestheslasher]

Lost by 6 but a good effort from the lads and maybe a few games in the qualifiers is a possibility.Ill post more detailed report later.

[cavanmaniac]

I don't think anyone harboured any genuine hopes of getting a win so today was all about the performance and I saw plenty to give us hope for the future.

Cavan played as a team, worked hard for each other and we look to be finding some good prospects to fill key positions. Our defence was extremely solid in the first half although it opened up a little more after the break and Donegal got their scores a lot easier, but there is a solid platform there to work on based mainly on funelling men back in numbers to compensate for whatever individual shortcomings and inexperience there is in there.

We played very confidently early on and took nice scores but in the second quarter, we shanked a few wides, hit the woodwork again and dropped another into the goalie's arms and from there on the boys' confidence in front of the posts was gone until late in the game when Donegal had eased off the pedal.

Overall we're going in the right direction and if God is good we can get maybe two games out of the qualifiers to progress the team. There's a bit of time until the first round I think so we can regroup. We were playing a very seasoned, well-drilled side today full of experience and comfortable with their tactics, and I think with more games under their belts Cavan can make big strides.

[cogito]

Hopefully we get a kind draw in the qualifiers and can get some momentum. We are back to basics now and its just gonna take time for players to develop.

Plenty of positives to take from today. Keating looks like he could develop into a quality player with time. McLoughin and Clarke held their own. Still not convinced on others like Maloney, Flanagan and Meehan but they will get better in time I hope.

We actually created plenty of decent chances today. Our shooting was just slightly off.

Midfield was a huge problem and McKiernan didn't look fit at all. We must be one of very few counties still happy enough to send out our kicks on a 50/50 basis.

[Denn Forever]

Beaten by a better team.  Can live with that.

We kept going til the end and lacked a bit of cuteness.  Always seemed to look for the money shot/pass where it might have been better keeping possession.

Well done lads

[mylestheslasher]

Broadly agree with Cavanmaniac on his report on the match. Although no one likes to lose we have to point out the positives...

- Cavan had 7/8 championship debutants on the field today.
- 6 points flatter Donegal. They got a penalty that should not have been and bud Fitz was desperately unlucky not to goal. He also hit the post for a point and Keating had a clear point waved wide.
-Colm McFadden only scored 1 point from play (Marked by podge)
- McBrerty didn't score from play at all (Marked by cillian clarke)
- Jason McLoughlin did very well, especially in the 1st half when his marker was subbed.
- James Reilly kicked some good short kick outs for a change.
- Donegal didn't create a decent goal chance
- All this with McKiernan clearly not 100% fit, Givney was definitely injured (must have got treatment 5 times during the match) and Ronan Flanagan must have been injured as he looked awful sluggish which is very unlike him.
- Keating looked the best player on the pitch

Experience, strength and playing to a very well rehearsed tactic was what beat us today in the end and a large slice of bad luck. Credit to Hyland who took a shambles of a team after the Antrim defeat and got them up for this match and the fought hard to the end. We wanted the team to go out and give their all and in my opinion they did that. If we could get a home draw in the back door then maybe another few games would bring this team along to greater heights. We just need to eliminate some of the silly mistakes which gave Donegal a lot of scores.

[Westside]

Myles I'd have to disagree that the scoreline flattered Donegal, I think it flattered us. Donegal were a lot more than 6 points better than us today. Donegal got a good lead and then completely took the foot off the gas in the second half. We didn't score for almost half an hour of the game.

That said, it was a lot better than our last championship outing. We looked like a team, a weak team but a team nonetheless. The lads worked hard, effort cannot be faulted.
-David Givney looks like he's becoming a fine player. Injured today but put his body on the line and busted a gut for the entire game. Typified by his block in the last minute.
-Keating was brilliant in flashes. Strong and agressive and can score off both feet. 
-Bud Fitz I thought was excellent, surprised to see him come off. He worked extremely hard and was unlucky not to have another goal and a point.
-Discipline. We didn't lose our heads at any stage even when it was obvious the game was gone away from us. Givney and Corr were both hit in the face at different points and didn't make a big deal of it.
-Cormac Reilly is a terrible referee

I see the knives are out for Hyland already over on the Hoganstand. Groundhog day. It's both sad and maddening. It's a long, long way back from where we've found ourselves as a county. But the lads involved now are committed enough and have enough football in them to have make us into a tougher side. It is just going to take time.

[mylestheslasher]

Maybe 6 points was fair enough. Hoganstand censors lots of posts yet just look at the absolute white being written there this evening. Watched a recording of match, ref yet again totally against us.

[whats my name]

i was looking at the hoganstand there and the negativity being talked there was unreal i actually thought we done ok today we worked hard and we created chances some of the scores we missed were very scoreable chances people are expecting to much from these players you have to look at the fact that this team was in the all ireland semi final and only a kick of a ball away from being in the final and we scored 1-10 i dont think any team scored as much as cavan did today against them in last years championship we had some good performances today in the likes of keating who kicked 5 points and caused magee alot of problems the two new lads put in at the deep end were very good mcloughlin and clarke and played well considering it was their first senior cavan game podge worked hard and gave it his all hes a very honest player bud done very well and i cant figure out why he was taken off and was unlucky not to score a goal and a point the wood work coming to donegals rescue twice givney played well at midfield and was up and down the pitch all day and chipped in with 2 or 3 good points and was on his own for most of the first half as g-mac looked tired and way off the pace prob was too early for him to come back and didnt look fit at all. mossy corr came in and done very well  another honest player who gives it his all i think if we can get the right draw we could pick up one or two wins along the way in the back door i felt positive leaving cavan that we are making some progress and we are doing something right we just have to be patient it wont happen over night we just need to start believing as a team

[Westside]

Yes forgot to mention Corr in the above. Did very well. He might be slightly limited in terms of ability but really does give it his level best. Supporters love to see that.

Very disappointed with the Minors today too. Donegal were much stronger physically, Cavan looked to have reverted back to the smaller type of player. Ben Kiernan came on at half time and played on the '40 and nearly swung the game back in our favour. Conor Smith was caught badly for the goal. We were missing a commanding presence a la Killian Clarke in the full back line. Sad that they are out now. With so many of last year's team we should really have been pushing on at Minor Level.

[BallyhaiseMan]

I'm probably not as optimistic as some of the posters on here,
The performance was excellent in some parts and terrible in others.

Negatives

-Givney and McKiernan were both clearly not anywhere close to championship match fitness.
Both put in a shift and contributed very well to the cause especially Givney whom was very good on the ball,but Donegal won the midfield battle
-We couldn't buy a ball during extended periods in the game when Donegal won break after break for seemingly forever. That has to be worked on.
-It was a mistake not having Mossy Corr in there from the start and starting Gearoid at wing forward,or bring him on as an impact sub.
-You could see the defensive system they were trying to play,but the Donegal players should have been fouled bringing the ball out of defense to slow the game up, a lack of cuteness as some of you said was evident.
-We have been saying this for some time,but improved physique and  physically bigger players are a must, some of our players looked like under 16's compared to their Donegal opponents.
-Poor shooting,some of the 11?? wides that we had were very scorable.
-Poor shot selection-Wrong lads shooting, Lads like Jason McLoughlin whom wouldn't be renouned scorers ended up on the end of some good Cavan movements when we should have been looking for the likes of McKeever,Givney,Keating,Gearoid to be shooting from distance. It needs to be better organised in future.
-how in holy f***k is one of the best football players in the county and the Playmaker we are crying out for sitting on the bench as a sub goalkeeper in Keith Fannin.
-We need to start with a free taker who can kick the ball off the ground
Positives

-Jason McLoughlin and Killian Clarke were both outstanding,both need to gain at least a stone in mass,but they done their county proud today.
-Podge has a terrific game on McFadden,it wasn't until McFadden switched over on McLoughlin that he scored from play.
-Very good tackling by the backs allround,We forced a number of turnovers in defence.
-Givneys shooting and general play was very good.
-Jack Brady looked lively
-The subs especially Mossy Corr,Niall Smith,Niall McDermott improved things to a fair degree when they came on. I thought Kevin done well also, Ray Galligan wasn't really on long enough to make a real impact.
-Eugene Keating was absolutely outstanding.He is the best football player in Cavan without a doubt.

[cavanmaniac]

I just chanced a look at the forum on another website for the first time in years. I didn't think it possible but it appears it has actually become worse. Some of the negative histrionics in there would make your eyes bleed and your brain itch, some of it is so over the top it looks like an organised collective actively competing with each other to say the dumbest and most outlandish things possible. It's almost like a fundamentalist sect of Cavan supporters have taken to the principles of militant Islam what with all the ranting and raving and demands for revolution.
There's people in there who are so clearly operating outside the boundaries of accepted reason and logic that I wonder how they function in the real world. Most of it should be gathered, catalogued and published as an epic farce. The mind boggles. I'm never looking at that risible nonsense ever again.

[PhilsJemmysField]

Very disappointed that the minors went out so tamely, but such is life. A lot of positives out of the senior performance the only lad I was very disappointed in was McKiernan. He was obviously not fit. Looks like management made the call to leave him on at all costs to get him moving and hopefully he and the team can build on that. Even though Givney also was not fully fit he definitely gave it 110% as did the majority of the team Good attitude and a positive approach to the game so a lot to move on with. Hope they can give the same approach in a couple of weeks time.

[tommysmith]

Though that the young lads that came into the team from the u-21's did not let themselves down bar Fergal Flanagan.  Clarke and McLoughlin held their own and didnt look out of place. Jack Brady also did ok.

I dont know how the management left Ronan Flanagan and McKiernan on the field for the whole game. It was obvious that Mc Kiernan had run out of steam and Flanagan was very poor and does not have the power for intercounty football especially against a team set up like Donegal.