Senior hurlers in last chance saloon

NHL Division 3

Roscommon 1-19

Cavan 0-19

Kevin Óg Carney at Dr Hyde Park

A sloppy start to both halves cost Cavan dear last Saturday in a topsy-turvy NHL Division Three round clash in Dr Hyde Park.

With both teams anxiously looking over their shoulders at the relegation trapdoor, the game was a tense, nervy and see-saw affair but it was the hosts’ success in constructing critical cushioned leads which left Cavan chasing the game for all but the first two minutes.

With just the final round game (at Kingspan Breffni) this Saturday (12 noon) against Armagh to play, Cavan have matters in their own hands in terms of their bid to avoid relegation.

Victory over the Orchard County will ensure survival. However, anything other than than a Cavan win though  and the anoraks will be in their element working out the permutations with Roscommon and Armagh also in the quagmire with basement bottom side Sligo already resigned to the drop.

Roscommon played against a slight breeze in the opening half and they could hardly have expected to have gotten off to such a spring-heeled start; careering into an impressive 1-5 to 0-2 lead after barely seven minutes.

Cavan were desperately slow getting off the starting blocks and, to their credit, the Rossies took full advantage with the dangerous Brendan Mulry rifling the ball hard and low to Conor Gallagher’s left side for a fine goal after just two minutes.

The current Cavan squad has evolved in a number of ways over the past five years or thereabouts and their mental strength, degrees of composure and maturity has held them in good stead under the cosh and so it proved as they circled the wagons and came back fighting.

For all that, Roscommon still boasted an eight point (1-9 to 0-4) at the end of the opening 15 minutes and while they never looked like cutting Cavan adrift, they did look comfortable in front.

With usual suspect, Liam O’Brien, to the fore in reeling in Roscommon’s lead, a hat-trick of points from the Waterford native helped cut the hosts’ lead to just four points by the half hour mark.

Roscommon were equally motivated on the day and the in-form Finn Killian stretched their lead before East Cavan Gaels clubman Jack McGuinness had the final say in the first half with a neat effort to leave just a goal, 1-12 to 0-12, separating the sides at the interval.

Cavan’s penchant for taking their time getting out of the traps was there for all to see at the start of the second half too and while another converted free (37) by O’Brien promised a different script, it turned out to be an illusion as Roscommon proceeded to hit Cavan with four unanswered points between the 39th and 52nd minutes Robbie Fallon grabbing two of them.

Roscommon looked to copper fasten their advantage by introducing fresh legs from the bench with a pair of subs coming on close to the hour mark but, instead, it was Cavan who gained the momentum and back-to-back points from Nicky Kenny had Roscommon looking decidedly shaky and nervous about the solidity of their now two point (1-16 to 0-17) lead as the 62nd minute kicked in.

From there to the finish, it was anyone’s game but the odds seemed to be favour a breeze-backed Cavan team who smelled blood.

Cavan nipped away at the heels of their opponents down the back straight but never quite managed to draw blood.

In fairness to Roscommon, they defended bravely, intelligently and as a tight unit and, importantly, they struck for two unanswered points after the aforementioned Kenny’s brace had threatened to topple the Rossies’ lead.

Finn Killian’s gem (63) made it 1-18 to 0-17 but the more Cavan pressed for the goal to get them out of jail the more resolute and determined the hosts became in what was an archetypal ‘thou shalt not pass’ stance.

Cavan hunted for a major(s) but, sadly, never managed to seriously threaten to breach Roscommon’s goal. Roscommon did well to force the Blues to let fly from distance and/or rifled in balls into to the hosts’ square in the hope that messrs. Keating and co. could somehow pull the fat from the fire.

Dillon Mulligan did pull a point back for Cavan in the 71st minute to make it a two point game and the tension became almost tangible.

The game was still in the melting pot but the westerners had the final say courtesy of a Michael Hussey effort approaching the third of five added-on minutes.

Roscommon: Enda Lawless; Mark Ward, James Dillon, Darragh Finn; Michael Hussey (0-1), Jack Donnelly, Conor Cosgrove; Eoin Fitzgerald (0-1), Jack Dowling (0-2); Cian Murray, Finn Killion (0-), Brendan Mulry (1-2); Conor Mulry (0-3), Robbie Fallon (0-5, 4f), Cathal Kenny (0-2).

Subs; Conal Kennelly for J Dowling; Ben McGahon for R Fallon; Adam Donnelly for C Kenny.

Cavan: Conor Gallagher; Shane Briody, Stephen Sheridan, Dylan McKeever; Daniel Martin (0-1), Canice Maher, Dylan Mulligan (0-1); Nicky Kenny (0-3), Jack McGuinness (0-1); Liam O’Brien (0-9, 6f, three ’65), Eamonn Óg McAllister, Thomas Leonard; Rian Delaney (0-1), Sean Keating (0-2), Mark Moffett.

Subs; Diarmaid Carney for E Óg McAllister (inj); James Smith for D McKeever; Darragh Boyle for J McGuinness; Fiachra Hughes for M Moffett; Conor Masterson for R Delaney.