Cavan hurlers bow out of Lory Meagher Cup

Hurling

Cavan 0-16

Louth 1-15

Kevin Óg Carney

Cavan’s hurling renaissance hit a road block at Kingspan Breffni on Sunday last when they missed out on booking a place in this year’s Lory Meagher Cup final.

Needing just a draw to seal a date with Fermanagh in this weekend’s decider at Croke Park, Ollie Bellew’s (Antrim) men gave it their best shot before agonisingly falling short.

Louth were reduced to 14 men in the 53rd minute but their resilience and greater division of labour up front proved enough to earn them the win they needed to advance to the decider.

Cavan were just a point adrift in injury time in the dregs of the game but as they pushed forward to grab the all-important equalising point, they were hit with a sucker punch with an ice cool free by Louth’s top scorer Darren Geoghegan in the 75th minute ending the blues’ dream.

Raging hot match favourites Louth were the more impressive team in the first half with messrs. Geoghegan, Paul Matthews and Andrew Mackin constant thorns in the Cavan defence.

Cavan gave as good as they got in the early minutes with Sean Keating and Fiachra Hughes scoring from open play before Geoghegan’s fine long range free (16) put the visitors ahead by the odd point in nine. Sadly for the hosts, it was a lead they would retain through to the final whistle.

Louth played with the breeze in the opening half and attacked the town end of the pitch but Cavan – operating with their backs against the ropes – seemed comfortably enough until Andrew Mackin’s timely goal (20) – after good work by Matthews – left Cavan clearly winded.

The only goal of the game would prove hugely important. Cavan played a gutsy, spirited game of catch-up thereafter but Mackin’s opportunist effort nonetheless did much to leave Cavan trailing by 0-7 to 1-10 at the interval lead.

On a damp but otherwise pleasant day for hurling, Cavan hung in there though, never looked like being cut adrift and indeed made a real fight of it in the second half.

That said, the Wee County still had Cavan at arms’ length (1-14 to 0-11) almost 20 minutes after the restart. However, the hosts got a real lift when speedy Louth attacker, David Kettle, was dismissed in the 53rd minute after picking up a second yellow card.

Cavan continued to nip away at their opponents’ heels with Cuala clubman Brian Fitzgerald aping the accuracy of Louth’s Geoghegan’s at the other end of the pitch from the dead ball situations.

Cavan’s grit and determination plus, in particular, Fitzgerald’s free-taking, eventually saw them eat away at Louth’s long-time lead.

The blues were adept at winning the lion’s share of the scrummages for possession. However their lack of options up front was ominous as they south to gain parity and nick the second draw of the campaign that would have meant an appearance at Croker.

Louth were still on the ropes as the dregs of the game kicked in and Sean Keating’s fine over-the-shoulder point (68) from the stand-side left just a goal (0-14 to 1-14) between the sides.

Cavan kept up the pressure and after a controversial ‘square ball’ decision went against Keating another brace of frees by Fitzgerald cut Louth’s lead to the minimum with two minutes of the four added-on minutes completed.

Drawing on the sort of experience that saw them win the Lory Meagher Cup four years ago and bagged them appearances in several Nicky Rackard Cup finals in recent years, the Leinster side held firm though and Geoghegan’s ice-cool finish broke Cavan hearts.

Cavan: Darren Sheridan: Caolán Kelly, Dominic Crudden, Bart Nannery; Anthony Sheridan, Enda Shalvey, Fred Williams; Colum Sheanon, Matthew Hynes; Diarmaid Carney, Fiachra Hughes (0-1), Sean Keating (0-2); Philip Brady (0-1), Brian Fitzgerald (0-11, 9f, ’65), Cillian Sheanon (0-1).

Subs; Sean McKeogh for F Hughes (h-t); Darragh Madden for B Nannery (h-t); Gary O’Rourke for M Hynes (inj,74).

Louth: Donal Connolly; Matthew Fee, Ronan Byrne, Andrew McCrave; Conor Matthews, James McDonnell, Liam Molloy (0-1); Ryan Walsh (0-1), Niall Keenan; Paul Matthews (0-2), Stephen Crosbie, Darren Geoghegan (0-7, 5f); Felim Joyce (0-1), Andrew Mackin (1-0), David Kettle (0-2).

Subs; Gavin Kerrigan (0-1) for A McCrave (40); Sean Costello for S Crosbie (49); Peter Fortune for F Joyce (65); Conor Deane for R Walsh (69).

Ref; C McDonald (Antrim)