The Official Cavan GAA Discussion thread.

Fair play to the minors last night - it has really lifted the mood across the whole county.. Hats off to everyone involved.

I have been so impressed by Ed O Hanlons interviews over the last few weeks. I really think this guy is a serious operator. Saying things like "changing the narrative" around Cavan football. The whole set up has a great feel to it with Mackey involved and also the Tyrone coach. We look so well organized and set up . Very exciting summer ahead now with an all Ireland quarter final in the calendar now too .

I said it before it would not take heart surgery to change our fortunes at underage .. Once we start to get good managers like Ed over our teams, things can change very quickly ..

It was near the end and a player caught the ball and ran over the line with it to breach I think. The ref brought it for a throw up but poster above thinks it was throw ball and not for the breach.

I think the superlatives are flowing a bit early about the minor management. They’re working with these lads since November/December. It has been impressive to date but don’t forget Ed won an U17 title with the Gaels, got them to an Ulster Final in 2023 but then last year lost in both league and championship with the same team when it changed back to U18.

Prior to this, this minor squad had 2 years of development work with Ollie Costello from Crosserlough, one of the Whartons and other coaches from clubs. A lot of work has gone in and trips around the country playing challenges.

They are also a talented bunch from the work their clubs put in. For example, other years you had stand out forwards like Daragh Lovett that underage teams relied on - this squad had three in Quigley, Brady & Graham.

They also have a goalie who looks like he could be the next Ray Galligan. That’s if he even stays in goals because he could just as easily partner James Smith at midfield.

It’s been testament to their strength in depth that they have lost starting players and it hasn’t disrupted their performances. For example, Lee Glennon, Matthew Duffy, Finian Smith & Simon Kolimar arguably all should be starting in the backs and were when fit.

Where did that come out of

I thought exactly the same when I saw that interview. I was reminded of Gearoid's interview after the U21 Final where he said they wanted to prove this team wasn't the same as the Cavan sides who had gone before.

Given how far off we've been over the years it's great and as Cavan King said, everyone involved with this side over the past few years deserves credit.

The U20 Management appointment is absolutely crucial now. If we could identity another young hungry manager like Ed who knows what it takes to win in the modern game, it would be a huge boost.

I'd have taken your arm off for 1 win over the past 24 hours and we managed 2.

I think you are being slightly disingenuous towards Ed here. I am not annointing him as the next Jim McGuiness and of course there have been others involved with developing these players but he and his backroom team have this group playing up to and beyond their potential, they are really well drilled as others have said, in two games they have adjusted their tactics in game to outsmart the opposition. I have only heard good things about Gavin McNeary and the work he has done in St Pats with modern analytical approach. If you look at the u16 Gerry Reilly team that lost to Kildare last year to the minor team this year, there was no Templeport players on it and now there are 4, Sam Maguire brilliant game yesterday in the middle of the park. Jake Brady who underage again next year brought in, don't believe the Ramor corner back was playing last year with the u16 Gerry Reilly team either. Lastly to say Ed lost the u18 league and championship with the Gaels last year is also harsh, there was 4 particularly strong teams in Cavan Gaels, Mullahorn, Kingscourt and Southern Gaels with not much between them, Kingscourt got in a new management team that brought that team on alot with some very good players on it and still in the league final only two points between them and the Gaels and they could of won it. Gaels had won the semi final on penalties against Mullahorn, shows how close it was. I am as far from a Gaels supporter as you will get but credit where credit is due, Ed and his management team deserve kudos for their work with the Cavan minors and hopefully they get a big crowd to support them next Saturday in Enniskillen.

Anyone with an ounce of sense can see the outstanding job Ed and the management have done. If they had lost, we'd almost certainly have people on here bemoaning the management lack of experience etc.

When they lost the first league game to Donegal, we had people saying that these teenagers needed a psychologist and management were too inexperienced. Was anyone talking about their development coaches then? Of course not. Now things are going better, they look everywhere but at management to dole out praise. It's just plain begrudgery.

Finals back then were not a big deal for Cavan underage. Sadly, they are a big deal now. Just look at the reaction of the players at full time. These lads were about 6 years old when our U21 run ended. They have seen little else but failure of Cavan underage sides.

The organisation, particularly in defence, motivation and coaching is obviously at a very high level. So yes, I would like to see a manager capable of implementing similar at U20 level.

Posters here feigning disinterest at anything except silverware are comical. If you're from Cavan and your name isn't Dermot McCabe, Terry Hyland or Peter Reilly, you are in no position to look down your nose at this minor management team.

Which member of the Management team are you then? Seems to be a few with connections to the panel or management on here,
Nobody is looking down on anyone who gives up their time to coach or manage at IC level, I’m stating a fact that they haven’t won anything yet, they have won some good games and got battered in one game and well beaten in another game by Tyrone.

If they beat Tyrone,in the final they deserve all the plaudits they will receive. Until then they haven’t achieved anything more than a number of previous managements have done.
They certainly haven’t achieved enough for about 2 pages worth of posts on here.

I can’t speak for Cavan King, This celebrate winning a game like we have won an All Ireland mentality that you have ,in my opinion has plagued Cavan football for decades, Nobody was calling for the heads of the minor management after both defeats by Tyrone, people are reasonable as to allow a campaign to conclude before giving a verdict on how Management has done. The scales are absolutely tilting towards the positive side so far, Cavan King and myself have both stated that, you and a few posters however, want to anoint the minor manager as the new Mickey Harte and that is simply premature, we all hope he is and the signs have been positive but it’s much too early to be making such comments. I’m going to leave this conversation here, we should be discussing Castlebar and not fighting among ourselves.

For me anyway, it's more about how we went about the last 3 results. Sure, of course we can only look back after a campaign, or end of a term to see fully, but I just simply like what I see so far from the line. Just simply focussing on the decisions coming there, we look a well organised team. And they are learning as they go from what's in front of them which is as much as you can ask. That's the Down and Donegal games where we organised at half time, and we came out way way better based on how the opposition reacted. Substitutions and movement of players worked, as well as his own organisation and instruction to the players during the match (maybe it's because I was sat just up behind him maybe and could hear what he was saying to the players too). Think it's ok to like what we see from a young manager, even if the final doesn't go our way.

It wasn't just the win, it was the performance. It was what you would want from a Cavan team. Each and every player tore into them, emptied the tank and when we play at that level its a joy to see. Warriors all over the place and we were far the better team. Mayo were poor beacuse we didn't let them play and a 3 point margin seriously flattered them.

Heartbreaking for Donnelly, any idea on McEvoy? I know they said blood substitution but he looked in a lot of distress.

As you said @mylestheslasher we were flying when the 2 lads went off and whilst that knocked us for a while we came back and absolutely dominated the game.

Big call to bring Brady in, his kick outs were great. Would have liked if he had have come for the high ball at the end and taken O Shea, Gunner and ball but that's just nit-picking.

I think McEvoy has a broken nose.

Okay, that's nasty but thankfully not long-term.

Lovely to see Paddy Lynch back in blue and fantastic point off his left too.

I didnt see but I am going by the podcast, i think they said it was broken on that.