McVeety: 'We proved the doubters wrong'

Paul Fitzpatrick

Cavan captain Dara McVeety was a happy man after the final whistle against Tipperary signalled promotion for his team – and, he said, the Cavan players have proved the doubters wrong.

“Look, at the start of the year we were told we were going to be going down so we are absolutely delighted to be going up. There wasn’t much expected of us, a lot of negative talk about us at the start but we proved everyone wrong,” said McVeety.

“We worked very hard in the off-season, we worked hard all year and I think it’s no less than we deserve.”

McVeety paid tribute to Conor Madden, who came off the bench to kick the winning point.

“We’re delighted. We made hard work of it at times, we were probably fortunate they got a man injured and then a sending off but we will take it. We were probably unlucky the last day, you ride your luck and we’re happy enough now.

“We’re just delighted to be back in Division 1 and to have a game in Croke Park.

“Madden oozes class. I told him a few weeks ago that he was going to win us a game and he came on and, look, he’s absolutely brilliant... In fairness, it’s a credit to him, he has been pushing the boys on the starting team and they have kept him off.

“He would get a place on a lot of county teams and fair play to him, he really stood up and did it for us today when we needed him.”

Below: Michael Hannon's post-match reaction