Just came across this this morning and thought it might be of interest to u21 followers in general. I seen it online but seemingly it was a piece in the Anglo Celt by Alan O Meara who was in goals when Cavan got to the AI final in 2011.
"Momentum.
Football; it's just one big game of momentum. It twists and turns. It constantly shifts from one side to the other and that's what makes it so interesting. The constant alternation of that momentum. The unpredictability of it all.
Looking back on Saturday, Cork definitely enjoyed greater periods of that momentum. They found scores easier to come by and the slow, intelligent and patient build-up that was the trademark of the Cavan team throughout their gallant march through Ulster proved less successful against the Munster men for most of the contest.
Then the momentum shifted and Cavan came so desperately close to maximising their purple patch to snatch a result from a team that had claimed three consecutive provincial titles of their own. Clever use of the substitutes bench and decisions taken by management in the heat of battle was a key part in that shift of momentum. The stereotype of pushing a big man like Michael Argue to the edge of the square and lamping it in for 20 minutes was avoided.
Paul Graham reenergised the half-forward line, while the switch of Brian Sankey with Killian Clarke was a fantastic call. Brian has won an Ulster minor title in the full-back line and also played there for me on a DIT fresher team and that is where he is probably most naturally at home. He had put in a a serious shift at midfield on Saturday and swapping him with his clubmate Killian at centre-field added to the fresh impetus Cavan were finding.
The introduction of Conor Madden gave Cavan a real cutting edge up top. Time after time throughout the afternoon Enda O Reilly and Paul O'Connor made selfless runs seeking the ball and trying to occupy the sweeper that Cork had stationed in front of them for the betterment of the team. Not everyone automatically sees those runs but they drain the legs. Madden brought a freshness and directness.
Above all though it was Conor Moynagh who grabbed the bull by the horns. The Drumgoon man was the catalyst to the Cavan reaction. He didn't just run at people, he ran by people and there is a difference. Give and go. Overlap. Create gaps. Inch by inch, yard by yard Cavan clawed it back. The shackles were off and they played with freedom and abandon as they chased the game. Momentum was gathering!
Driving home from the game I couldn't get the lyrics 'when you try your best but you don't succeed' from the Coldlay song 'Fix You' out of my head. I was gutted for the team. I've been on that u21 journey from start to finish and it is one hell of a ride. The effort, the commitment, the honesty, the passion and the sheer energy both mentally and physically this team will have put in to wearing that blue Cavan jersey will have been second to none.
For years in Cavan all people said was that they wanted to see pride back in the jersey. It's a cliche but it makes you think for a second about what people really want from you when you pull on that jersey. These lads, some of them still 18 and others just about 21, put their lives on hold to play for Cavan. They drive from Sligo, Galway, Dublin or wherever they may be to Breffni Park on a weekly basis just to earn an opportunity to wear that famous blue and and I think Cavan folk have started to take pride in their teams again over the last three years. The size of the blue wave in Tullamore was certainly a fair indicator of that.
Few get the opportunity to become the physical embodiment of the area where they come from. To encapsulate the spirit and ignite the passion of their county. To stand centre stage and tell the wider public through actions rather than words that this is where I am from and this is what we are about. You do it for identity. To pull on the jersey and wear your tribes crest and colours with pride. You go to war together. You break bones, pull muscles, sprain ligaments, both live your dreams and have them crushed. Tears of joy, tears of sorrow. It's a rollercoaster full of highs and lows.
Nobody will feel that more than Mullahoran's Enda O'Reilly this week. A lesser man would have shirked the responsibility of the game winning shot in such dramatic fashion. There are so many excuses he could have told the management when they called for him right at the death as he had already put in his shift for the team. Tight hamstring or dead leg, he only had to mutter two words. Some would have blankly refused the responsibility but it's a sign of his character that he sprung from his seat when the opportunity arose. Michael Jordan once said; "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
Win together, lose together. Buckle up lads; the rollercoaster doesn't stop here."
"Momentum.
Football; it's just one big game of momentum. It twists and turns. It constantly shifts from one side to the other and that's what makes it so interesting. The constant alternation of that momentum. The unpredictability of it all.
Looking back on Saturday, Cork definitely enjoyed greater periods of that momentum. They found scores easier to come by and the slow, intelligent and patient build-up that was the trademark of the Cavan team throughout their gallant march through Ulster proved less successful against the Munster men for most of the contest.
Then the momentum shifted and Cavan came so desperately close to maximising their purple patch to snatch a result from a team that had claimed three consecutive provincial titles of their own. Clever use of the substitutes bench and decisions taken by management in the heat of battle was a key part in that shift of momentum. The stereotype of pushing a big man like Michael Argue to the edge of the square and lamping it in for 20 minutes was avoided.
Paul Graham reenergised the half-forward line, while the switch of Brian Sankey with Killian Clarke was a fantastic call. Brian has won an Ulster minor title in the full-back line and also played there for me on a DIT fresher team and that is where he is probably most naturally at home. He had put in a a serious shift at midfield on Saturday and swapping him with his clubmate Killian at centre-field added to the fresh impetus Cavan were finding.
The introduction of Conor Madden gave Cavan a real cutting edge up top. Time after time throughout the afternoon Enda O Reilly and Paul O'Connor made selfless runs seeking the ball and trying to occupy the sweeper that Cork had stationed in front of them for the betterment of the team. Not everyone automatically sees those runs but they drain the legs. Madden brought a freshness and directness.
Above all though it was Conor Moynagh who grabbed the bull by the horns. The Drumgoon man was the catalyst to the Cavan reaction. He didn't just run at people, he ran by people and there is a difference. Give and go. Overlap. Create gaps. Inch by inch, yard by yard Cavan clawed it back. The shackles were off and they played with freedom and abandon as they chased the game. Momentum was gathering!
Driving home from the game I couldn't get the lyrics 'when you try your best but you don't succeed' from the Coldlay song 'Fix You' out of my head. I was gutted for the team. I've been on that u21 journey from start to finish and it is one hell of a ride. The effort, the commitment, the honesty, the passion and the sheer energy both mentally and physically this team will have put in to wearing that blue Cavan jersey will have been second to none.
For years in Cavan all people said was that they wanted to see pride back in the jersey. It's a cliche but it makes you think for a second about what people really want from you when you pull on that jersey. These lads, some of them still 18 and others just about 21, put their lives on hold to play for Cavan. They drive from Sligo, Galway, Dublin or wherever they may be to Breffni Park on a weekly basis just to earn an opportunity to wear that famous blue and and I think Cavan folk have started to take pride in their teams again over the last three years. The size of the blue wave in Tullamore was certainly a fair indicator of that.
Few get the opportunity to become the physical embodiment of the area where they come from. To encapsulate the spirit and ignite the passion of their county. To stand centre stage and tell the wider public through actions rather than words that this is where I am from and this is what we are about. You do it for identity. To pull on the jersey and wear your tribes crest and colours with pride. You go to war together. You break bones, pull muscles, sprain ligaments, both live your dreams and have them crushed. Tears of joy, tears of sorrow. It's a rollercoaster full of highs and lows.
Nobody will feel that more than Mullahoran's Enda O'Reilly this week. A lesser man would have shirked the responsibility of the game winning shot in such dramatic fashion. There are so many excuses he could have told the management when they called for him right at the death as he had already put in his shift for the team. Tight hamstring or dead leg, he only had to mutter two words. Some would have blankly refused the responsibility but it's a sign of his character that he sprung from his seat when the opportunity arose. Michael Jordan once said; "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
Win together, lose together. Buckle up lads; the rollercoaster doesn't stop here."