Analysis: Cavan show ability to win ugly

Tactics Board

Damien Donohoe

Any day you leave Pairc Ui Chaoimh with a win is a good day, regardless of how the Rebels are going. Cork played Saturday’s game with real intensity and desire and made it a game that wasn’t for the faint-hearted.

The three blood subs, three black cards and at least half a dozen yellow cards are all the evidence that’s needed to prove this was a physical battle.

It was also a battle we could have lost with the game hinging on so many momentary decisions but in the end, it was the Cavan players’ unwillingness to settle for a draw that got us over the line. It showed character and bravery in the game’s deciding moments and the diehard Cavan fans that travelled south appreciated it.

In fact, those fans did their bit when the game was in the melting pot, as they could be heard urging the lads on and it was great to see the players showing their appreciation for that support after the game.

I’m not holding back anything with this analysis of the game. I know whatever I’ve picked up on will have been seen and covered by the management and players by now as they go through all the video work and stats from the game, but this wasn’t a great performance.

Cork, by half-time, had created and spurned two good goal chances with Eoghan McSweeney’s miss that hit the crossbar particularly poor. The excuse for that chance being allowed to manifest is probably the fact that Cavan were without their full-back Killian Brady who was just after being shown a black card.

Brady was involved in a hot-tempered battle with Brian Hurley who is wily operator who can get inside an opponent’s head. He succeeded on Saturday and honestly I think Killian can count himself lucky that the referee didn’t adjudge his actions to be a kick instead of a trip.

Cavan’s first three points all came from the fist and when you’re close enough to goal to fist the ball over the bar, there is always the potential for a goal. On two of the three occasions, there wasn’t an option to square the ball across the square for a palmed goal but for Caoimhin O’Reilly’s second fisted point, Ciaran Brady was attacking the square and in real time it looked like the goal was on.

We haven’t scored a goal in the league so far this year and a few green flags would be a welcome addition to the scene. One way for this to happen is that the run to the back post when one of our players is carrying the ball towards the goal. When the ball-carrier has that support run, he has a better chance of creating or scoring a goal because the opposition defence must split their attention.

The kick-outs again are a major talking point. I think it’s important to point out that kick-outs are a reflection on the team as a unit and not just the goalkeeper. If the strategy is to go long with the kick-outs, then the players out the field have to get to the breaking ball zone or create pockets of space between the two 45s for someone to run into to receive the ball in motion.

In the first half, we lost five of our own kick-outs and Cork scored directly from four of them. All four of those kick-outs were long but Cork won clean possession or the breaking ball and broke quickly before we could get our defence in place.

The disappointing thing is that we are losing the breaking ball on our own kick-out and yet we appeared to do well on breaking ball on the Cork kick-out.

Sometimes this can happen because a forward can attack a breaking ball from an opposition long kick-out without any fear of it costing his team. A defender may not have that luxury because he is afraid that if he commits to the breaking ball and his team doesn’t get it, he’s now out of position and potentially leaving his man free close to goal.

All that considered, it was a shame that after not playing well in the first half we were level going into first half injury-time and still went for the break three points down, Two of those three Cork points came in the space of a minute and were off our kick-outs. This coming weekend we may not have to worry too much about our kick-out retention as Louth tends to give up the opposition kick-outs in an attempt to create counter-attacking space.

As Raymond Galligan prepares for his sixth competitive match as Cavan senior football manager, we are starting to learn more about him. We now know he has the ability to use his half-time team talk to produce a major upturn in his side’s performance.

We saw a much hungrier and more energetic side when they re-emerged as the seven points the lads got compared to Cork’s one in the third quarter illustrated.

The introduction of Cian Madden had a huge impact on the game as he hit two points in quick succession. Conor Rehill and Cian Reilly also made impressive contributions off the bench at different stages which would indicate a happy camp in which there is confidence in the overall group.

It was great to see Oisin Brady back on the field as well because he has a direct style that is scary for defenders. The point he got to put Cavan one ahead in injury time was typical of a player full of confidence and guts. He simply had one thing on his mind – “I’m going to get the winning score” – and he did.

I’ve saved the best for last. I think we now have a wide enough sample of games to say that when Paddy Lynch (pictured) is on his game, he can be one of the best forwards around. On Saturday evening, he was simply excellent in his ability to show for ball, win it and make the correct decision.

His second of three points from open play saw him gather a pass along the sideline 55 metres from the endline. He carried the ball along the sideline to almost the 13-metre line, dropped the shoulder and curled the ball over the bar at his ease to level the match.

That alone is enough to say he’s top class but his value to the team goes way beyond when you add in his free-taking duties. It’s a fact at inter-county level that you can’t win any significant title without a top place-kicker. Having a very reliable free-taker means you can stay in a game when the team is not performing at its best like the first half on Saturday when Lynch hit two from two frees.

A top-class free taker will hit most of his frees across a season, getting into the 80% bracket. On Saturday night, Lynch hit 100% of the frees which I’m certain in saying I have witnessed less than a handful of times by a Cavan free-taker at senior level. His free 11 minutes into the second half was about 60 metres from the black spot as the crow flies and he measured his distance to the inch, raising his sixth white flag.

Interestingly, the last time I saw a Cavan free-taker convert 100% of his frees was two weeks ago when Lynch hit five from five against Donegal and in the first game of the league against Kildare, he hit six from seven. In my time covering Cavan games I’ve seen our free conversion rate at times drop as low as 30% so it’s a wonderful boost to now have a free taker who has a conversion rate of 94.4% over three games.

The exceptional free-taker and ball-winner Niall McDermott played for Cavan seniors 71 times and averaged 2.1 points per game while the brilliant Gearoid McKiernan averaged 2.8 points per game over a remarkable 134 games.  Paddy Lynch has now scored 8-132 in his 36 appearances for the Cavan seniors which means he averages 4.3 points per game. Just let that sink in.

It all points to a team really heading in the right direction, with a leading marksman whose presence means they can win ugly if needed.