Hurlers open NHL season with impressive win

NHL Division 3

Cavan 1-17

Sligo 1-12

Kevin Óg Carney at Kingspan Breffni

Cavan made a winning start to their 2025 Division Three National Hurling League campaign by conjuring up a rare victory over Sligo at Kingspan Breffni on Saturday afternoon last.

In reprising their last victory (4-15 to 0-15) over the Yeats County in 2018 and consolidating their back-to-back promotions in the NHL, Ollie Bellew’s charges once again demonstrated their capacity to punch above their weight in order to get over the line in pole position.

Sligo came out on top in both NHL Division 3A encounters between the sides last year but, in slumping to their second successive defeat this season, the visitors were made play catch up last weekend for the entirety of the final hour of play.

Having suffered the frustration of seeing their opening round game away to Mayo postponed, Cavan were suitably focussed from the get-go and were obviously determined to bank an important win on home turf in pursuit of the camp’s stated ambition of retaining their place in the division for another season.

As things panned out, the game was an intriguing battle between two wholehearted sets of players and acted out before a vocal home support in bitterly cold conditions.

The predicted closely-fought affair was duly enacted but once Thomas Leonard steered Cavan into a 0-5 to 0-4 lead after 17 minutes, the match underdogs always looked the more likely winner.

Cavan played towards the town end of the park in the first half and with the advantage of a strong wind at their backs sought to take the game to their fancied opponents.

The stand-out player on the day, Liam O’Brien, opened the scoring for Cavan with a point in the second minute but Sligo travelled with intent and it took a great interception moments later by Cavan midfielder Jack Barry to prevent Conor Griffin from sneaking in behind and availing of a possible goal chance.

Cavan led by 0-4 to 0-2 with 11 minutes on the clock but then three successive wides inside two subsequent minutes took a bit of the shine of the hosts’ fine start.

With 16 minutes on the clock, the game was all-square at 0-4 apiece but Cavan upped the ante considerably over the course of the next eight minutes with a hat-trick of unanswered points from O’Brien and a good Leonard point - following fine foraging by Antrim native Eamon Óg McAllister and team-captain Enda Shalvey.

Sligo looked decidedly vulnerable when trailing by 0-4 to 0-8 and they eschewed a real leg-up when the otherwise impressive Andrew Kilcullen saw his 26th minute penalty batted away by Cavan ‘keeper Gallagher.

Cavan lost experienced defender Shane Briody to a black card for his part in the penalty award and the expectation was that Sligo would reap a suitable harvest by dint of their 10 minute numerical advantage.

And, on cue, a brilliant solo goal (28) by the aforementioned Kilcullen served to cut Cavan’s lead to a much more manageable 0-11 to 1-5 at the short whistle, making it very much a case of game-on once more and all to play for on the restart.

Surprisingly, Sligo laboured to use their wind advantage in the second half to good use in their attempt to reel in Cavan’s lead.

Equally surprising, it was the blues who leapt out of the starting blocks for the second half with a measure of confidence and conviction that belied their place in hurling’s pecking order while reflecting their growing stature on the national stage.

Sligo must have fancied their chances of making honest men of the turf accountants with the wind at their backs in the second half but, instead, they found themselves very quickly on the backfoot on the restart when key Cavan player Canice Maher banged home a goal (41) after a great move - involving six players – was started by Diarmaid Carney’s sideline cut from inside his own 20 metre line.

Goalscorer Maher followed up his major with a point seconds later to make it a seven point game, 1-12 to 1-5, and it appeared the game was Cavan’s to lose.

With just over an hour on the clock, Cavan were still quite comfortably ahead (1-16 to 1-10) but, mindful of the threat of a highly-rated Sligo attacking contingent, the hosts’ defence continued to operate a ‘thou shalt not pass’ policy.

Sligo huffed and puffed in trying to bridge the gap in the dregs of the game but Cavan weren’t for turning.

An inspirational Eddie O’Donoghue point (65) for Sligo made it a five point game but it was a score that was thereafter cancelled out by a really fine point by impressive debutant McAllister.

Cavan: Conor Gallagher: Shane Briody, Enda Shalvey, Mattie Hynes; Daniel Martin, Stephen Sheridan, Diarmaid Carney; Jack McGuinness, Jack Barry; Liam O’Brien (0-12, 9f), Canice Maher (1-1), Thomas Leonard (0-2); Eamon Óg McAllister (0-2), Dylan McKeever, Mark Moffett.

Subs; Dillon Mulligan for M Moffett; S Keating for D McKeever; Rian Delaney for T Leonard; Darragh Boyle for J McGuinness; James Smith for J Barry.

Sligo: Kevin Brennan; Darragh Cawley, Kevin O’Kennedy, Eoghan Rua McGowan ; Brian Shannon, Paul O’Brien, Fionn Connolly; Conor Griffin, Andrew Kilcullen (0-5, 4f); Paul O’Leary (0-2), Gerard O’Kelly Lynch (1-0), Eddie O’Donoghue (0-2), Darragh Flynn; Conor Hannify (0-3), Fergal O’Kelly Lynch.

Subs; Ronan Molloy for C Griffin (inj); James Weir for B Shannon; Kevin Beirne for D Flynn.

Ref: P Owens (Down)