Glee for Galligan's Cavan as listless Mayo stunned in Castlebar
Cormac O`Reilly of Cavan kicks a point against Mayo. Pic: James Lawlor, Inpho
THE biggest shock of the weekend occurred in Castlebar when Cavan not only beat Mayo, they blew them away. The Ulster men arrived by the western sea as outsiders, but headed for home with their championship credentials in rude health after winning much more comfortably than the scoreline suggests.
Raymond Galligan's men were sharper, smarter and more direct. They made the home side look pedestrian at times and the contrast between Cavan's swift attacking play and Mayo's lateral approach was stark. The glaring fact that only one of Mayo's starting forwards scored from play tells its own tale.
The three-point gap at the end gives an utterly wrong impression. The difference would have been much greater at the end, but for a late Mayo salvo which yielded a goal and two points without reply. In truth, those scores made little difference in the end as the travelling Breffni hordes danced on the pitch after the final whistle.
"We were determined to produce a performance the people of Cavan would be proud of today," reflected wing-back Padraig Faulkner. "We wanted to lift people's spirts and a win was vital for us. We've had a lot of injuries and it was time for other men to step up and that's what they did."
Cavan set out their stall from the outset and tore into the home side. They ran at their direct opponents time after time and reaped the rewards.
A first half that did little to enhance the positivity surrounding the game this season ended with Mayo somehow enjoying a three-point lead. Had Cavan had been more efficient in front of goal the scoreboard would have been much different.
It took Mayo until the 18th minute to record their first score, a free from Ryan O'Donoghue, and the Belmullet man sent a goal effort wide a minute later, but Cavan were the better team for long periods.
The Mayo crowd expected the home side to push on after the resumption, but Cavan soon put paid to that assumption. Gerard Smith blasted home a goal after a minute and when Cormac O'Reilly landed a point two minutes later they were in front and would never be headed for the rest of the day.
Mayo dragged themselves back to level the scores by the 41st minute, but the momentum was with Galligan's men who raced forward every chance they got.
At the back, Cavan snapped at every Mayo man who ventured forward, but it was made easier for them by the lack of ingenuity in the home attack. Instead it was left to midfielders Stephen Coen and Matthew Ruane to kick points and keep Kevin McStay's men in it.
However, Cavan with corner-back Niall Carolan doing a great job on Ryan O'Donoghue, Ciaran Brady excellent at centre-half-back and both Oisin Kiernan and Cormac O'Reilly kicking points for fun, they were soon stretching away.
Mayo brought on Paddy Durcan for the closing stages in the hope that the team captain could inspire things after more than a year out with injury, but Cavan were not for turning. They were eight points clear at the end of 70 minuites and Mayo put a gloss on the scoreboard with a goal from Aidan O'Shea and points from O'Donoghue and Fergal Boland before the curtain fell.
"We weren't good enough – simple as that," accepted Mayo manager Kevin McStay. "The Cavan team were very energetic and got stuck in. They deserved their win and the scoreline in the end flatters us.
"The only positive we have is that we stuck at it. Aidan got the goal in the last play and if there had been another minute or two, who knows what would have happened.
"Our job is very acute now because we have to rise ourselves for the game against Tyrone and that was always going to be tricky, but more so now."
C Reape; J Coyne, D McHugh, S Callinan; S Coen (0-4), D McBrien, E Hession; D Thornton (0-1), M Ruane (0-2); D Neary, J Carney, J Flynn; A O'Shea (1-0), D McHale (0-1), R O'Donoghue (0-5, 4f, 1 2ptf)
F Kelly for Carney (55), P Towey for Neary (58), P Durcan for Hession (59), F Boland (0-1) for Flynn (58), F Irwin for McHale (70)
L Brady; C Reilly (0-1), R O'Connell, N Carolan; K Brady, C Brady (0-1), P Faulkner (0-1); B Donnelly, E Crowe; G Smith (1-0), D McVeety (0-1), O Kiernan (0-4, 1 2pt); C O'Reilly (0-4), R Donohoe, S McEvoy
C Madden (0-3, 1f) for Donnelly (14, inj), O Brady for McEvoy (26, inj), P Lynch (0-1) for Donohoe (56), L Fortune for C Brady (68), R O'Neill for O'Reilly (68), L Molloy for Crowe (70)
P Faloon (Down)
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