By Michael McMullan

CAVAN minors know they’ll need their best hour of the season against Kerry on Saturday but they are still in the All-Ireland mix after their Ulster final defeat to Tyrone.

Ed O’Hanlon’s side recovered from a “shaky” start to lead at half-time before a moment of Joel Kerr magic shot the Red Hands on their way to a 26th Ulster title.

Both Cavan and Tyrone will run out in Portlaoise on Saturday, against Kerry and Cork respectively, in the All-Ireland quarter-final double header.

“We felt we were good enough to make it to the Tier One competition from the challenge games that we played early in the year,” O’Hanlon told Gaelic Life.

A look around and performances offered promise of being in the top bracket but there was still a feeling of their tough championship path. It took a strong final quarter to see off reigning champions Derry. Donegal and Down were also formidable opponents on the way to a first final in eight years.

“We went into the Ulster final with a lot of belief,” O’Hanlon said. “We started very shaky on the day and while we did get ourselves into it by half-time, a good few lads ended up not just playing to their full ability.”

What started with unforced errors giving Tyrone a pathway into the game turned into a Cavan spell and O’Hanlon could see the momentum. He felt half-time came at the wrong time for the Breffni Blues.

“We probably handled the first ten minutes of the second half fairly well,” he added. “They (Tyrone) were going to need something special, and they probably got something special with Joel Kerr’s run for the first goal.

“We turned over too much ball in the second half but Tyrone are an excellent team, I wouldn’t want to make it all about us. They were in a spot, and they really dug themselves out of it in the second half.”

They pressurised the Cavan kick-out and with a hold on the middle third, Tyrone pushed on for victory.

Cavan took the night off after the final and were back to work on the Tuesday in the knowledge of an All-Ireland campaign, with all eight provincial finalists paired off in the quarter-finals.

“The boys know that we were in the mix, in our mind, going into the game,” he added. “We obviously were hoping for silverware but we didn’t get it.

“As I said after the game, the eight teams, in their own internal camps, have a fair degree of belief in their chances. We now play the Munster champions and they look like formidable opposition.

“We certainly think if we can perform the way we have been performing for large parts of the year, then we’ll be a very good test.

“We’ve looked at their games, they haven’t played as many matches as we have. The reality is they’ve got through Munster without having to stress themselves too much.

“I know they’ve been going well on the challenge game circuit as well. We’re under no illusions that they’re a very good side. They have a number of dangerous forwards there, so we’re going to have to be at our very best if we are going to win it.”