By Niall Gartland

ANOTHER opening day away trip for Cavan – and this season it’s a particularly lengthy trek as Dermot McCabe’s side travel to take on Cork this Sunday.

Throw-in time is 1pm and Cavan will be hoping for a welcome boost after a fairly average McKenna Cup campaign – at least on the results front, but they’re well-used to hitting the road in their first round league matches down the years.

As pointed out recently by Anglo Celt sports editor Paul Fitzpatrick, Cavan’s trip to Cork will be their 22nd away game in round one of the league since the turn of the century. Quite a stat.

In their McKenna Cup opener they lost by three points to neighbours Monaghan before falling short against Fermanagh – a game later declared null andvoid.

That said, there were positives to be gleaned from both outings. Corofin clubman Ciaran Brady has done well in the middle, Cormac O’Reilly looked sharp up front against Fermanagh, Caoimhan McGovern likewise, while Gearoid McKiernan is back on the field of play after an injury plagued 2025.

Their attacking efficiency left a lot to be desired against Monaghan, so that’s an obvious area for improvement, but it should be remembered that they came within a whisker of promotion from Division Two last year.

It will be hard to see off the likes of Tyrone and Derry in this season’s promotion race, but a mid-table finish is a realistic outcome.

A win on the road against Cork would be massive for McCabe’s men, but the Rebels will be in confident form having overcome Kerry in last weekend’s McGrath final, the Munster equivalent of the McKenna Cup.

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