Raymond Galligan: 'We knew that we were doing a huge amount right'
PERMUTATIONS: Raymond Galligan admitted that he hadn’t worked out the permutations ahead of the final round of games in Division Two, which could yet see Cavan promoted. Pic:Tom Beary/Sportsfile
Raymond Galligan admitted that he hadn’t worked out the permutations ahead of the final round of games in Division Two, which could yet see Cavan promoted.
With neighbours Monaghan all but assured of an immediate return to the top flight, Cavan can join them in Division One next season if they defeat Cork and Louth get the better of Meath next weekend.
However, if all three teams — Cavan, Meath and Roscommon (who play Westmeath) who are locked together on eight points — win their final games, Roscommon’s superior scoring difference might yet see the Rossies sneak into the league final and be promoted.
“I haven’t worked out the permutations. I have been looking forward instead of behind me for the last few days. I felt it was important that we don’t get ahead of ourselves. The full focus was on Roscommon, and we had to be mindful how it might pan out in a worst case scenario. It’s about focusing on ourselves this week,” he said in the aftermath of Sunday’s two-point victory against Roscommon at King and Moffatt Dr. Hyde Park.
Late points from Dara McVeety and Seán McEvoy handed the visitors a thoroughly deserved success, ensuring that the second promotion berth from Division Two will go down to the wire next weekend.
The Ulster side overturned a four-point deficit early in the second half to take the spoils and leave themselves in with a shot of returning to top flight football next season.
Cavan were arguably the better team during the opening 35 minutes, despite trailing by two points at the break.
They missed two glaring goal chances as Barry Donnelly blazed wide with the goal at his mercy and Gearoid McKiernan brought a great save out of Roscommon goalkeeper Conor Carroll.
Enda Smith and Dara McVeety swapped the opening two scores of the contest before points from Ultan Harney and Cian McKeon edged the Rossies 0-3 to 0-1 ahead.
A Conor Cox two-pointer from play stretched the home side’s lead further but it wasn’t long before Cavan, through a combination of their midfield dominance and turnovers, wrestled back the initiative.
Cormac O’Reilly hit two points in quick succession but Conor Hand responded for Roscommon with a perfectly-executed two-point free off the ground.
However, Cavan’s feathers weren’t ruffled, and frees from Gearóid McKiernan and Cian Madden alongside points from play substitute Seán McEvoy, McKiernan (free) and Cormac O’Reilly edged the Breffni men 0-8 to 0-7 ahead after 27 minutes.
But Roscommon were more efficient in the lead-up to half time. Cian McKeon and Jason Smith swapped points before a ’45 from Hand and a Ciarán Murtagh score just before the hooter left Davy Burke’s side 0-11 to 0-9 at the change of ends.
A free from an acute angle by McKiernan on the resumption left the bare minimum between them but a Ciaráin Murtagh point was followed by two Conor Cox frees after referee Seán Hurson brought the ball forward 50 metres twice when Eddie Nolan was prevented from going forward after claiming possession in the middle of the field.
But Roscommon couldn’t push on from there. McKiernan tagged on a free before a couple of two-pointers in quick succession from Dara McVeety and Gearóid McKiernan, from a monstrous free, edged Cavan in front.
A brilliant individual point from Conor Hand brought the sides level as the nip and tuck nature of the contest continued.
But Roscommon continued to play in fits and starts as Cavan looked more fluent in attack.
Cormac O’Reilly landed his fourth point of the afternoon before Cian Madden, Seán McEvoy and Barry Donnelly kept the scoreboard ticking over.
Ciaráin Murtagh missed a goal chance for the hosts, palming Shane Cunnane’s pass off the crossbar.
Diarmuid Murtagh marked his introduction with a point, while Enda Smith and Ciaráin Murtagh (free) kept their side in touch.
McVeety and McEvoy pushed Cavan three points ahead, and even though Diarmuid Murtagh pared back the deficit to two points from a free, there wasn’t enough time for Roscommon to make further inroads as Cavan held on for one of their best league results in years to ensure an exciting conclusion to Division Two next weekend.
“Any day you get two points on the road, you’d definitely be very happy.
“We had a really good pre-season. We played all Division One teams. We got some harsh lessons along the way. But we knew that we were doing a huge amount right. We had given lads huge opportunities and we were able to evaluate the depth in our panel.
"That’s starting to come to fruition now because we had a lot of injuries coming into day’s game. Lads stepped up and we had full trust in them that they would,” concluded Galligan.
: G McKiernan (0-6, 1 tpf, 0-4f), D McVeety (0-4, 1tp), C O’Reilly (0-4), C Madden (0-3, 0-2f), S McEvoy (0-3), J Smith (0-1), B Donnelly (0-1).
: C Hand (0-4, 12pf, 0-1 ’45), C Cox (0-4, 1 tp, 0-2f), C Murtagh (0-3, 0-1f), C McKeon (0-3), D Murtagh (0-3, 0-2f), E Smith (0-2), U Harney (0-1)
: G O’Rourke; N Carolan, B O’Connell, C Reilly; P Faulkner, C Brady, L Fortune; J Smith, G Smith; O Brady, B Donnelly, D McVeety; C Madden, G McKiernan, C O’Reilly.
S McEvoy for O Brady (13), R O’Neill for McVeety (temp 26-28), E Crowe for Fortune (49), T E Donohoe for O’Reilly (55), R O’Neill for Smith (57).
: C Carroll; R Fallon, J McManus, N Higgins; S Cunnane, D Murray, R Dolan; E Smith, E Nolan; C Murtagh, U Harney, C Hand; B O’Carroll, C McKeon, C Cox.
: S Killoran for Harney (temp 10-23), C Neary for Dolan (35), D Murtagh for Cox (48), K Doyle for Harney (48), D Cregg for McKeon (63), D Ruane for Cunnane (68).
: S Hurson (Tyrone).
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