Official Cavan GAA Thread

[Itchy]

Ryan McMenamin to replace Dermot McCabe in the Cavan backroom team.

How was mcmenamin got in fermanagh I wonder

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Big wins for Ramor, Gaels and Kingscourt at the weekend, bit of a reality check for some of their opponents. Ramor very well balanced looking team, defend and attack well. McKiernan was unstoppable at times v BJD outfit, Gaels look tidy enough but if big Gearoid can be kept quiet I'm not sure how clinical the rest of their forwards are. I haven't seen Kingscourt in the flesh but they are quietly going about their business as usual and I'm sure SF is a very likely prospect for them. After that they'll take beating. Laragh and Ballinagh served up a tight contest as expected. The former will be very happy with their championship showing so far. Unbeaten and into the quarters and I wouldn't be putting any money on the champions beating them next day out either. That leaves The Lough and neighbours Ballinagh to see who will secure the final QF spot. The Kilnaleck men will be hoping their other neighbours Castlerahan can do them a favour and beat Ballinagh but that doesn't look a good bet at the moment. And even if it does happen they'll still have their work cut out against Laragh.

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Team    Pld  W  L   D   PD   Pts
Ramor    4   3   0   1   27   7
Gowna    3   3   0   0   21   6
K/court    3   3   0   0   19   6
C/Gaels    3   2   0   1   17   5
Laragh     3   1   0   2   9   4
Lavey      3   2   1   0   -4   4
M/horan   3   2   1   0 -18   4
Ballinagh  3   0   1   2   -9   2
C/lough   3   0   2   1   -4   1
Lacken    3   0   2   1   -34   1
K/garry    3   0   3   0   -3   0
S/rcock    3   0   3   0   -8   0
C/rahan    3   0   3   0   -13   0

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Round 5 Draw
Ballinagh v Castlerahan
Laragh v Crosserlough
Lavey v C.Gaels
Kingscourt V Mullahoran
Lacken v Killygarry
Shercock v Gowna

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Team         Pld W   L   D   PD   Pts
Ballyhaise   4   4   0   0   23   8
C/hulainns   4   3   0   1   9   7
Cornafean   4   3   1   0   21   6
Baileboro    4   3   1   0   17   6
B/bridge     4   3   1   0   12   6
K/shandra   4   3   1   0   4   6
B/machugh 4   2   2   0   3   4
Killinkere     4   2   2   0 -13   4
Drumgoon   4   1   2   1   -5   3
Templeport 4   1   2   1   -8   3
Arva           4   1   3   0   -13   2
Drumlane   4   0   3   1   -13   1
Cootehill    4   0   4   0   -11   0
Belturbet   4   0   4   0   -23   0

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Team     Pld   W   L   D   PD   Pts
K/bride     4   4   0   0   51   8
M/nugent 4   4   0   0   21   8
Denn       4   3   0   1   39   7
Drung      4   2   2   0   22   4
Kill           4   2   2   0   1   4
Kildallan   4   2   2   0   0   4
S/Gaels   4   2   2   0   -6   4
M/aught   4   1   2   1   -8   3
Redhills    4   1   3   0   -7   2
D/alee     4   1   3   0   -8   2
S/bar      4   1   3   0   -19   2
Maghera   4   0   4   0   -86   0

[rodney trotter]

Ramor look good. Damien Barkey back playing this year to give some solidity to the full back line. Paddy McNamee showing well in the full forward line, had been in Australia for a number of years but showing some guile in the full forward line at 38/29
James Brady playing very well also and Simon Cadden

Gowna going well also, maybe a bit loose in defence. Kingscourt with Joe Dillon back seem to be at full strength ..

Cornafean V Killeshandra local Derby on friday. both teams have had decent campaings so far, but knockout now in the quarters.

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QF line up confirmed. The champions are out and can have no complaints. Very flat this year.

Gaels v Laragh
Kingscourt v Lavey
Ballinagh v Ramor
Mullahoran V Gowna

Gowna should have too much for Mullahoran but could be a feisty affair. Gaels should have enough for Laragh, Laragh some nice footballers but think they'll struggle for pace. Kingscourt and Lavey tricky to call, the stars will be the bookies favourite but Lavey on their day could cause them problems. Ramor and Ballinagh should be another tight one. Ballinagh are a tough outfit but I'd be going for Ramor and if I had to call who will win it outright my money would be on the Virgina men.

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QFs went to script, exciting SF line ups with Gaels v Ramor and Kingscourt v Gowna.

I expect both games to be very tight and very hard to call who the finalists will be.
Ramor would have been my favourite from the start, very well balanced team, but as Ballinagh showed, for all their good play they don't blow teams out of the water too often. They break well with the ball, got some great ball carriers and their inside forwards get out well and win ball but if you can keep tight and compact at the back and pressure their forwards their dominance will not always reflect on the scoreboard. A late Ballinagh goal could have sent them packing despite looking the better team for much of the game. Gaels on their day are a match for anyone, a lot will depend on the performance of McKiernan. When on form they look very formidable but other times they have looked very ordinary. They have some terrific footballers though but I think if Ramor can nullify big Gearoid they have a better team overall that can adapt to more scenarios.

I've been very impressed by Gowna this year. We've seen young teams win the championship very recently in both Ramor and Crosserlough so no reason they cannot keep the trend going. Mullahoran had no answer for them as expected but it was still tight at half time and their dear neighbours did get a sniff of a goal on more than one occasion so despite their heroics this year they still need to answer the really big questions before wearing the crown. TBH I haven't seen Kingscourt at all in this years championship but they are a wily team and got some very talented players. They got loads of experience and have a good balance of youth too. It only takes a bad spell of play or a mistake to crash out and they have players like Barry Reilly to name but one to capitalise on any breaks that come their way, so for that reason I think the stars will sneak through.

Prediction: Ramor v Kingscourt final   

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So Ramor Gowna final. Ramor got through a tough slog against Gaels. Poor enough game but was always going to be tight.
Surprised by the ease of Gowna's win, thought Kingscourt would show more. They're young and still haven't been properly tested yet but the way they've powered through the championship so far maybe there's no one good enough to test them?
Ramor are a hard team to break down and were my pick from the start but I think if they fail to keep a clean sheet in goal against this Gowna team the Longford border men could run riot.
I'll not change at this stage and stick with a Ramor win but I like the look of this Gowna team- power, pace, mobility, ability. If they can keep this group together and add more players from current fine underage teams it's the makings of a great team.

[rodney trotter]

Gowna have looked very good. They lost one of their best backs at start of the year  David Phillips switched to a club in sligo but the younger player's are stepping up and experience of McKeever. A lot of pace in the Gowna team. Conor Brady showoff good leadership at midfield

I thought when Ramor won in 16 they would push on  but the same could be said for Crosserlough last year.
Caffrey at midfield has had a decent championship for Ramor ..   Sean McEvoy standing out in the forwards,

[Dreadnought]

All quiet here the last while. What do we think for final Sunday? Have a slight feeling for Ramor. Think they've a lot of experience of the day recently, and have come through a lot of tight games so far this year and could be more conditioned for a hard slog on heavy ground. Gowna on paper look favourites, but think they had a very handy group and QF, and haven't really been tested for a full hour as they've won some games pulling up. They're a young team, so that could go two ways: not enough experience, or could play with no shackles. It'll be a tight enough game I think, but feel Ramor might just have enough. But this Gowna team is coming and will be here for the long run. Looking forward to the game anyway

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All to do again next week. I thoroughly enjoyed it, the quality of the second half left a bit to be desired but it was honest edge of the seat stuff although very scrappy and error ridden. Referee played his fair share in the error count but a draw was a fair result even though it was blown up very early. Thought first black card was very harsh, other obvious enough ones not given.

Hard to know who will be the happier of the 2 sides. So many simple goal chances missed by both sides but have to say Ramor keeper and Brian O'Connell deserve massive praise on that front. Ramor looked the slicker of the two sides with even numbers, better use of ball and some great turnovers but black cards let momentum swing considerably. Virginia men were on the ropes towards the end and the legs looked to be gone but despite having 3 or 4 good match winning chances Gowna couldn't deliver the knockout blow so they may feel they left it behind them.

Only watching on a stream so hard to know what exactly was happening off the ball but I thought Gowna did some amount of complaining to the referee and nearly wanted a free every time there was any sort of contact. Lost the head a number of times too when the frees went the other way. In that respect Ramor looked the more composed and just got on with the game. So in the referee's defence it was a hard enough game to referee with all the background noise.

Hard to call the replay, I'll stick with Ramor. Hopefully we get a stronger ref. But I don't think we'll see much difference in game approach from the Lurgan outfit although the goal chances coughed up have to be a massive worry. Gowna have plenty of food for thought after that and plenty room for improvement. Thought they over ran the ball too often and distribution was sloppy enough at times. They'll need to be a lot more clinical next day out when the opportunities arise if they are to complete the double for the half parish on the Longford border.

[rodney trotter]

Mackey was man of the match for Mullinalaghta yesterday. Castlerahan had a good team while he was there, but Mackey was the real difference in them winning 2 Championships.


https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/former-cavan-star-cian-mackey-stars-as-mullinalaghta-climb-the-mountain-in-longford-again-41027832.html

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Mackey was man of the match for Mullinalaghta yesterday. Castlerahan had a good team while he was there, but Mackey was the real difference in them winning 2 Championships.


https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/hurling/former-cavan-star-cian-mackey-stars-as-mullinalaghta-climb-the-mountain-in-longford-again-41027832.html

Yeah, Mackey a pure class player. As well as ability on the ball he also has that vision and passing accuracy to pick out a player in dangerous areas and unlock a defence. Always brave and made himself available for the ball no matter what. Despite losing a bit of speed and fitness that other part of his game will always be there. As you said, Castlerahan had a fine team but whether they could have won without him a very big if.