Cavanagh shrugs off Brolly criticism

Sean Cavanagh has brushed off the latest criticism of him by RTÉ pundit Joe Brolly who accused the Tyrone player of dragging down would-be defenders following yesterday’s Ulster SFC defeat to Monaghan in Clones.

Cavanagh was to the fore as Tyrone sought to claw back a five-point deficit in the closing stages of the qualifier, bursting forward repeatedly, though Brolly suggested he was engineering frees by dragging would-be tacklers to the ground.

The former Derry player was scathing in his criticism of Cavanagh last year after the Moy player pulled Monaghan’s Conor McManus to the ground when through on a goal at a critical point of an All-Ireland quarter-final.

“It doesn’t worry me, it doesn’t surprise me,” said Cavanagh. “Whatever is said in the media. I’ve been in the game too long to let it annoy me. I’ll always come back stronger and this Tyrone team will come back stronger as well. We’ve got Louth in two weeks.”

Whatever about his actions in Croke Park last summer, Cavanagh won admirers for the frank manner in which he spoke of the incident and its aftermath at the time and he was reason personified again yesterday.

Mickey Harte opted for the first time in living memory not to face the media, such was his anger with some of Eddie Kinsella’s refereeing decisions, while selector Tony Donnelly claimed Tyrone had not received fair play from the officials.

Cavanagh was more sanguine.

“You have to live with it and get on with it,” was the summation of his views and the decision to add just two minutes at the end of normal time was similarly devoid of the bitterness which defeat can bring.

“Some days it goes for you, some days it doesn’t. I remember the 2005 All-Ireland semi-final [against Armagh], there was only two minutes [added on] as well and it worked in our favour because Peter [Canavan] kicked a point.”

It could have worked here, too, had Tyrone kicked an injury-time free to take the game to a replay. Cavanagh did just that, against Down, last month, but this time it fell to goalkeeper Niall Morgan who had been shown a black card that first day.

Cavanagh, who has kicked many a free for Tyrone in pressure-cooker situations, was unremorseful about his decision as skipper to leave the duties to Morgan whose record was two from four for the day as he stood over the crucial kick.

“If Niall had been on the pitch against Down he would have taken it. I’m captain of the team and I make the decision. Niall kicks those in his sleep in training and he will kick it in his sleep again. It just didn’t go over for him today, but I have no regrets about not taking it.

“I was fouled myself and I was feeling a bit tired as well and I knew Niall is a better kicker than me from that distance so I deferred to him,” said the former All Star who left the ground with his right knee heavily strapped.