Cavanagh explains semi-final absence
The Moy clubman revealed he did not get “a single minute” of sleep the night before the game due to a ‘flu that left him “zombified”.
He informed manager Mickey Harte of his illness in the morning but says their meeting concluded without any decision being made on whether he would start the game or not.
The 26-year-old managed to get some sleep in the three hours before a team meeting later that morning and was feeling better but before he could consult with Harte, was told by Tommy McGuigan that he had been ruled out.
“I got up at around 11.30am and went for the players’ meeting” he told Gaelic Life. “On the way I met Tommy McGuigan in the corridor and he told me that he was sorry to hear that I wasn’t well, that he was starting for me … that’s how it was broken to me.”
Cavanagh had felt fine until going to bed Saturday night. “When I went to bed things went downhill pretty quickly. I was having hot and cold flushes, really unsettled. I watched every minute pass by.
When you lay there for that long, eight or nine hours zombified, you get really lonely and low. I was getting angry and frustrated, because I knew I wasn’t going to be at full strength.”
Having discussed the situation with roommate Ryan Mellon, he decided to tell Harte what had happened. Cavanagh understood their discussion to have concluded with an opening for him still to play.
“I said that I had no problem playing the game but that I didn’t feel 100% and therefore wasn’t going to be full strength. I told him I’d leave the decision completely up to him.”
Having heard from McGuigan that he would not be starting, Cavanagh said he next spoke to Harte was in the warm-up room at Croke Park.
“He told me he was going to hold me back. I told him I was doing much better. It was disappointing that I wasn’t going to be starting in one of Tyrone’s biggest games, the first time that has happened to me since I joined the seniors (in 2002).
“I was hoping I was going to get the call, even that early on. I had faith in the lads, but you’re always thinking that you’ve something to give. When I did get in I gave it all I could but Cork were very difficult to break down.”
