Qualifier victory over Down comes at a cost
Cavan 1-14
Down 0-15
Paul Fitzpatrick
at Brewster Park
Cavan could be without Dara McVeety and Conor Moynagh for the next round of the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers after both were shown red cards after the final whistle in this evening’s win over Down.
There were ugly scenes after ref Cormac Reilly brought the match to a close, with Down defender Anthony Doherty also shown a straight red.
Cavan won the game thanks in no small part to quite a fortuitous goal from Gearoid McKiernan. Down by 0-13 to 0-9 entering the final quarter and looking short on ideas up front, the Blues hit the jackpot when McKiernan’s shot slipped through the hands of Down goalkeeper Shane Harrison and into the net.
Down will feel that they were out of luck on the evening – they fielded without the injured Donal O’Hare and lost key men Connaire Harrison and Kevin McKernan (30th minute black cards), Ryan Johnston (49th minute red card) as well as seeing star defender Caolan Mooney limp off early in the second half.
However, Cavan also lined out without a key man – Killian Clarke – and having trialled a new ultra-defensive structure against Wicklow last time out, will be more than pleased to have come through this stern examination in the sun.
What mattered most was getting the result and manager Mattie McGleenan described that aspect as "pretty cool". Cavan have not won two successive 'back door' clashes since 2013.
The Blues were the better side early on and eased into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead through Sean Johnston (free), Ciaran Brady and McVeety.
Two further Johnston frees and an excellent McKiernan score made it 0-6 to 0-2 but the underdogs dominated the remainder of the first half, with Harrison, Ronan Millar (two frees) and Doherty (free) all on the mark.
Eamonn Burns’s men made light of the losses of Harrison and McKernan to land the final two points of the half from Niall Madine and Sean Dornan as they went in holding a 0-10 to 0-8 lead.
Both sides were set up defensively – Cavan employed three sweepers at times – but Down were that bit slicker up front at this stage and three points in succession from David McKibbin, Millar (free) and Dornan made it 0-13 to 0-9 as the upset seemed on.
However, Cavan were buoyed by their goal – McKiernan’s point attempt dropped short and through the hands of goalkeeper Shane Harrison – and with Down reduced to 14 men following Johnston’s dismissal, Mattie McGleenan’s charges finished strongly to march on.
Late scores from Padraig Faulkner and McKiernan sealed it, with Down’s Darren O’Hagan denied a goal by a good save from James Farrelly in the dying seconds.
The draw for the third round of the qualifiers takes place on Monday morning.
Scorers for Cavan: Gearoid McKiernan 1-2, Sean Johnston 0-3f, Ciaran Brady 0-2, Niall Murray 0-2, Conor Bradley 0-1, Dara McVeety 0-1, Padraig Faulkner 0-1, Sean McCormack 0-1, Oisin Kiernan 0-1
Scorers for Down: Anthony Doherty 0-4f, Ronan Millar 0-4 (3f), Sean Dornan 0-2, Connaire Harrison 0-1, Kevin McKernan 0-1, David McKibbin 0-1, Peter Turley 0-1
Cavan: James Farrelly, Killian Brady, Padraig Faulkner, Enda Flanagan, Ciaran Brady, Conor Moynagh, Martin Reilly, Sean McCormack, Bryan Magee, Oisin Kiernan, Gearoid McKiernan, Niall Murray, Conor Bradley, Dara McVeety, Sean Johnston
Sub: Fergal Reilly for K Brady (ht), Cian Mackey for Johnston (42), Caoimhin O’Reilly for Magee (42), Adrian Cole for McCormack (54), Niall Clerkin for Kiernan (65), Jason McLoughlin for Flanagan (70)
Down: Shane Harrison, Ryan McAleenan, Brendan McArdle, Anthony Doherty, Darren O’Hagan, Niall McParland, Caolán Mooney, Peter Turley, Niall Donnelly, Ronan Millar, Kevin McKernan, Conor Maginn, Sean Dornan, Connaire Harrison, Ryan Johnston
Subs: David McKibbin for McKernan (BC, 30 mins), Niall Madine for Harrison (BC, 30), Jonny Flynn for Mooney (44), Conor Poland for Donnelly (51)
Ref: Cormac Reilly (Meath)