The Official Cavan GAA Discussion thread.

DJIMI TRARORE

Hung on with a poxy goal in 1st half , Donegal woke up after HT and scored at will, Murphy should have been black carded b4 ht but ref bottled it, not that it would have mattered, abysmal from Cavan

Naughty_Skelator

That was horrendously bad in the second half, We competed admirably in the first half against the wind, and were well in the game until they got their first goal but the second half performance was shocking.

The second half plans seemed to be put a half fit Paddy Lynch on and start taking /2 point shots, Donegal had him surrounded by 3 men everytime he went outside the arc.

James Smith competed admirably but he wasn’t anywhere close to be being fit.

Mc Veety I thought was outstanding throughout, Holla put in a serious shift , and I thought the full back line did well especially Niall Carolan,until the Cavan structures completely collapsed and allowed Donegal to run through us in numbers in the second half..

I though Evan Crowe performed well, he was always an outlet, but he isn’t a midfielder, he does many things very well, tackling ,winning dirty ball etc, but he’s not terribly comfortable carrying the ball and isn’t a threat going forward, I’d much prefer him in at Full Back.

We got obliterated on breaks from both ours and Donegals kick outs, can any of you lads remember a game which we have lost so many breaks, I don’t blame Liam Brady for it either , We have zero ideas and zero tactics for winning breaking ball at midfield, we always seem to be outnumbered… Brady made a couple of outstanding saves as well.

We had a few lads whom couldn’t compete with Donegal’s speed , we have that deficiency unfortunately against the top 6-8 teams which was evident against Tyrone too...

I just don’t know where we are going ,to be honest lads…can’t see us getting anything from Tyrone, we might sneak into a preliminary quarter final,but the first top team we meet, I fear will be another repeat of today.

On another note, I don’t claim to be a diehard ,I’ve been at 5 of the 7 league games and 2/3 championship games this year ,but Jesus lads, we were outnumber by about 4 or 5-1 by Donegal , it seemed to me today, I’ve never seen such a small Cavan crowd for a home championship game which was surprising.

Depressing stuff.

mylestheslasher

If anyone wants to know why people don't go to watch our county team, why pundits don't give us credit well that's why. A pathetic gutless display. No clue on kickouts again. Fellas left on who were embarrassingly bad. A total sh*t show.

piplip87

That was a reality check today but we where playing serious All Ireland contenders today and we are nowhere near that level.

I'd love to know what is up wihh McEvoy as it seems he gets the ball and passes it back a lot. That is not what got him on this team is it confidence or instructions.

On a side note when Donegal hit form midway through the second half very few teams could cope with it. Murphys two pointer as good a score you will ever see..

mogue77

I thought the goal just after the hooter went deflated us and give them an enormous lift and energy going in at halftime because we were well in the game at that stage and should have put out the ball after the hooter, couple of misses in the beginning of second half and the heads dropped , i also thought the referee was a bit harsh on us they got away with a 3rd man tackle and got a score from it blew us up for over carrying a few times when they got away with it twice , same ref fecked us in the league a few years ago v Kerry.

Cavan_King

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123506035#Comment_123506035

In fairness it was good until right before HT and then turned into a total **** show. The goal conceded after the hooter, when we had possession, was inexcusable. The point before that was also a turnover.

In the second half we risked two players who were clearly not fit. Totally ridiculous stuff. Donegal came out gunning for us and we had no match for it. Hugely disappointing.

Any momentum gained from the Mayo game has now been well and truly wiped out. It remains that the only consistent thing about our county team is their inconsistency.

And the county board are worried about throwing tens of millions into a ground which is far from a fortress and where we are outnumbered by opposition supporters.

mylestheslasher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123506431#Comment_123506431

That goal was one of the most stupid goals I've ever seen conceded. Liam Brady was trying to waste time so he could kick it out of play - ref stopped clock forcing him to kick it out. We win ball and Holla decides he's going to run into the Donegal defence.

Gerry Smith stunk the place out but wasn't subbed, he failed to track runners all day. I'd safely say it cost us 1-4. The 2 lads came on not nearly ready for 30 mins. Where do you even start with kick out strategy, atrocious.

piplip87

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123506431#Comment_123506431

Absolutely bang on. Nothing at all wrong with Brefini in its current condition. Far better pumping that money into the underage structures and aiming to be at the top table in the 7 - 10 years. The focus on a redevelopment

dxhound2005

The Celt is saying it is one of the worst in living memory. But I think the 2 pointers might skew the stats. I was behind the Town goals, and I don't remember a 2 pointer being scored by either side there. Or even an attempt at a 2 pointer. I could be wrong. The wind is making more games of "two halves", same happened in Clones today. I was slightly grateful for the small Cavan turnout, as I had the road to Cootehill and beyond to myself on the way home😀

"Cavan were well in the game at half-time when they trailed by seven points, although they had given away a goal with a needless error in the final play of the half, but the second-half performance was one of their worst in living memory. Records indicate that Donegal’s 3-26 was the highest score Cavan have ever conceded in championship football."

mylestheslasher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123506795#Comment_123506795

If it skews stats it's in our favour. I think donegal got 1 x 2 pointer. We got 2 or maybe 3.

Cavan_King

I’ve had it thrown in my face re mentioning psychologists on here before when it came to the minors but are all the top teams not working with them?

I’m not sure why it’s such a taboo subject. For a team operating in or around the top level, Cavan capitulate in games. Yesterday was inexcusable. Heads dropped completely & any semblance of effort disappeared.

Surely it’s something needs to be looked at thoroughly before the habit creeps into the next set of players coming through.

Jim McGuinness previously spoke about a mental softness to Cavan and he was certainly proven correct yesterday, not just by our team but our management too.

mylestheslasher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123508217#Comment_123508217

You are right, we are mentally very very weak. I would even go as far to say if Mayo game had gone on 5 mins more we probably would've lost it

hatefulrory

Donegal are a top side. Their pace and power are on a level we rarely play against. Their shooting was immaculate in the second half. They were aided, particularly in the first half, by a referee who clearly gave Donegal every 50/50 decision and treated Murphy like a celebrity - not that it influenced the result but it was frustrating to watch. Every break of the ball seemed to fall away from Cavan and dispossesions on multiple occasions fell back into Donegal hands.

The outnumbered Cavan faithful provided lukewarm support. Which is unsurprising given their inconsistency. It's fascinating to watch the difference in the Donegal supporters and how 15 years of following a consistently competitive and reliable side has affected their morale and how they engage with the team.

I felt sorry for the players. They are good lads and clearly went into that game believing we could get a result. You could feel their hurt and disappointment in that last quarter.

Results in the minor second tier championship and the Ulster Final performance have taken the shine off the minor run and there may be a little bit more trepidation going to play Kerry.

Yesterday's hammering was inflicted on the product of the best years of Cavan underage development in our lifetime. The coming years will be worse. Radical change is required if we want to be truly competitive but there's nothing to suggest the leadership have the vision and that the football people in the county have the will to attempt to forge a new path.

Cavan_King

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123508521#Comment_123508521

It’s nothing new either. Mickey Hannon referenced the infamous 2005 Tyrone replay where they beat us by 21 points in the podcast. The year before in the qualifiers we were level with Derry and didn’t score in extra time, I think they beat us by ten in the end. 2010, Cork annihilated us.

In 2014 you had a good team beaten by Roscommon in the qualifiers 16-5 in Breffni. The 2019 Tyrone game.

I’m sure there are other results, those are the ones come to mind, but Cavan seem to be able to ship a beating like no other county & it seems to be an issue creeping across various generations. You could argue we’ve had poor teams some years but even a bad side can be made hard to beat.

That’s not to mention losing games we really should have seen out (Derry 2016, Tipp 2017).

Work certainly needs to start on this and addressing other issues on the field rather than throwing money into a stadium that our county can’t even fill on a good day.

mylestheslasher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123508596#Comment_123508596

Lad, that's just a load of excuses. We need to look within. Why can we play against the wind and compete for 30 mins and then fall asunder in 2nd half. It's not the ref, unlucky bounces of ball or that Donegal are the most amazing team to grace breffni park.

hatefulrory

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123508997#Comment_123508997

I'm not making excuses I'm commenting on some of what I saw yesterday. Did you think the ref did well in the first half? Or that Cavan got many lucky breaks of the ball? Or that Donegal weren't impressive in the second half?

Cavan couldn't live with the pace, power, accuracy and physicality of one of the best teams in Ireland and All Ireland contenders. The first half was reasonably competitive but we went in 7 down. We got some chances while it was still a contest early in the second half but accuracy let us down and then Donegal's running game wore us out, heads dropped and we shipped a beating.

Donegal played at a level in the second half that Cavan don't have in them.

celt262

We are miles off the top teams and no psychologist will change that. It's the usual craic in the championship the odd good performance followed by getting embarrassed.

We only have a two or three top class players, go back and read the comments after the first couple of league games by a good few posters here not much has changed since.

mylestheslasher

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123509211#Comment_123509211

Yes ref made some poor calls. We were 3 down and conceded 1-1 in brainless scores coming up to half time - nothing to do with ability or ref. Then at start of 2nd half we missed 4/5 very score able chances, some shockingly poor, and then we basically lay down when Donegal upped it. Donegal lost to Tyrone last week, Langan and Murphy got 15/20 points. They ain't that good in my opinion. I'm tired of making excuses. Our lack of any pre rehearsed kickouts is an embarrassment at this stage. We were bet by 19 points ffs, zero excuses for that.

baconsarnie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123507061#Comment_123507061

I think both sides got one each (Murphy and McVeety)

baconsarnie

@mylestheslasher

I'm not going to make an excuse for it, but I don't think that was as bad as say the Dubs last year or Mayo in Castlebar last summer. The final scoreline might say different but hear me out. We were well in the game and coming into half time I was pretty happy. Then we get turned over for a point and still at 4 points down I was more than hopeful that we could compete. The goal totally knocked the stuffing out of us.

You're now up against (in my opinion) the best running side in the country. What do you do? If you don't press up and have a cut you're going to lose by 10 and by pushing up we left acres of space to run into. Naive? Possibly.

Once the second goal went in, I do think we absolutely fell apart. We looked like a kids team that just loses the will to be there when the chips are down, that is concerning.

I am not saying I left Breffni with a spring in my step but after i cooled down a bit it wasn't the "worst ever" (despite the scoreline). Shows that against a really top team you cannot switch off for a second, and that last 2 mins of the first half mean the game was over.

baconsarnie

@hatefulrory this was supposed to be a quote reply but my boards account is acting up!

100% agree. When the game was well in the mix, there were 3 big calls that could have had a huge impact. Blatant black cards ignored. One on Cian Reilly led to a Donegal score that instigated the dust up. Shocking call. Everyone will say "we lost by 19 points, that doesn't matter) but the game was effectively lost in a 2 minute window I feel. Donegal are genuine All Ireland contenders, we are a top 14 team. Harsh reality, but if we were ever going to get close we needed everything to go our way and for Donegal to have an off day.

Murphy is one of the most talented footballers I've seen, but he has a nasty streak in him (not saying that's a bad thing) but he also gets away with murder. He might as well ref games himself. The throw ball with Evan Crowe was hilarious- the roar Murphy let out when the ball threw in as he launched himself to the ground, yet the referee bought it.

While their attack rightly is getting plaudits, Donegal's defence was superb in the second half. They knew who our danger men were for 2 pointers and as soon as Oisin Kiernan, Paddy Lynch or McVeety got the ball they swarmed them.

baconsarnie

@Cavan_King this was supposed to be a quote of your earlier review but for some reason my boards account is acting up

Spot on in all of that. McGuinness is a dose, but a very clever one. He knew they were in a battle and the cute hooer turned a minor issue into a war cry. I was the far side so I couldn't see it but Hannon reckoned he was almost about to have a go at the officials but realised he can't do that anymore, so engineered a row to avoid a free and in doing so got the crowd up. In fairness the Donegal fans responded.

He had his players ready to run through us, put the foot to the throat and they relished it. Sadly when we kicked some awful wides right at the start, our heads dropped. It's far easier to make a 40 metre lung-busting run when you're 7 or 8 points up, but it's hard to do that when you're 14 or 15 points down. Our heads had completely gone for the last 10 minnutes, and if that was an underage game you'd be asking for mercy :)

Given the intensity of the game and the amount of running Donegal had in them, what was the point in bringing James Smith on for?

I don't think we had anyone who could match him (we never have and most teams don't) but the Gunner was chasing shadows against Murphy. Might have made sense to stick Faulkner on him after about 15 minutes. O'Donnelll was amazing for them, cut us open at will.

etuzyuk

Plenty of home truths in those posts.

Disappointing result if not entirely shocking. We rely on luck for big results, if it goes against us we drop the heads. Unfortunately it's where we're at, you get out of football exactly what you put into it. Not having a go at the players or management. If you're given the job you're going to take it. If you're given the jersey you're going to play. I'd be more critical of county board and lack of ambition or accountability last few years. We dropped to Division 4 without as much as a boo to management. My worry when Ray took the job was he'd have it for as long as he wants regardless of results. In fairness to him he has done better than I expected but there are things that don't fill me with confidence either.

I don't think player buy-in is good enough. Too many lads need to be begged to come in. Playing half fit players ahead of others bursting a gut. That's only going to piss lads off in the long run, they're not stupid. You have to have a 100% professional setup and attitude at this level. County squad is not a halfway house. If you don't have a manager to inspire players and raise their expectations from day one and demand 100% commitment, you're on very loose footing. Eventually you're going to meet a real team where hard running, energy and work appetite is needed everywhere. If you're short in only a few areas you'll be handed your ass.

Having said all that I don't know who is around to do better. Only if a messiah for us does actually exist they'll not be approached by this board. Current management have at least another game this year. We should see an improvement against Tyrone but ultimately fall short of victory. Then if Mayo lose possibly we get a nice draw. We'll dust ourselves down and continue as we are for next year. Hopefully we don't turn off too many players and fans in the process.