By Niall Gartland

THERE’S two ways at looking at their upcoming All-Ireland group stage campaign from a Cavan perspective.

There’s the half-glass empty perspective – that it’s a nightmare draw, that Mayo, Donegal and Tyrone are too good, and above all else, that nagging sense of deja vu.

Or how about a more optimistic spin on things. Cavan didn’t perform anywhere near their potential against Tyrone in the first round of the championship and now they have a chance to rectify matters. And last year’s poor showing against Mayo in Castlebar? They’ve a chance to lay that particular ghost to rest this Sunday afternoon as well.

That’s the attitude adopted by their corner-back Niall Carolan, who wasn’t throwing up his hands in dismay when the draw for the upcoming All-Ireland series was made a fortnight ago. If anything, it’s settled minds after the disappointment of their seven-point defeat to Tyrone in mid-April, a game when the final scoreline (1-24 to 0-20) didn’t tell the full story of a fairly tepid Cavan display.

The Cuchulann’s clubman said: “We seem to be getting particularly tough draws but as fourth seeds again, you’re never going to get an easy one.

“Playing Tyrone will be an interesting one – we definitely weren’t happy with our performance up in Omagh a couple of weeks, and similarly last year in Castlebar, we didn’t play well, and it’s not often you get the chance to right the wrongs of defeats like that. Whatever draw you get, you have to grab it with both hands and try your best.”

After a five-week break of sorts, Cavan will return, hopefully refreshed and reinvigorated, to the championship fray this Sunday. Carolan, who captained the Breffni County to an Ulster U-20 Championship final appearance three years ago, is confident that they’ve used the last month or so fruitfully.

“After the Tyrone game, we met up on the following Wednesday and then went back to our clubs for the weekend. A lot of lads played while some others took the break, which is understandable as the league is such a hectic period and then you’re straight into the championship.

“My club happened to have a bye that weekend, so it was good to recharge the batteries, and then we had a bit of a mini pre-season blast for the last three weeks or so, working on gameplans, keeping the fitness levels up high and having in-house games. Our preparations have been good so we’re looking forward to a big few weeks.”

Carolan has effectively gone about his business in the corner-back role since graduating to the senior ranks.

Last year, of Cavan’s 14 competitive matches, he started 13, a statistic unmatched by any of his colleagues. His durability alone makes him a prized asset though he doesn’t want to jinx himself!

“Touch wood, I can keep that up. I suppose availability is important, I try to keep fit, to keep on top of recovery, and it’s important as it’s been a hectic couple of years.

“The seasons have run into each other between county, club and colleges, and you just do your best to stay on top of it, I think that’s the main thing.”

Mayo mightn’t be quite as strong as they were not that long ago, when they were duking it out with Dublin for supremacy at national level, but Carolan isn’t convinced that they’re no longer one of the county’s big hitters. At the same time, he’s cautiously optimistic about the road ahead and the hope is that one way or another they can manage to pick up a win or two and advance from their group.

“The aim is obviously to get out of the group and hopefully go further from there but you can’t be looking too far ahead.

“Mayo are one of the top, top teams in the country and I think a lot of people said Galway were going to win by this or that amount in the Connacht final, which was never really going to be the case – when do Mayo ever get hammered in the championship? They’re a quality outfit as we found out last year, it’s obviously going to be a tough task but it’s one we’re relishing.”

LAST MEETING
2024 All-Ireland SFC Round Robin Mayo 0-20 Cavan 1-8

MAYO made short work of Cavan in this round two encounter at Castlebar last May, pushing on in the second-half with the wind at their backs to claim a resounding victory.

Cavan came to MacHale Park looking to cause an upset but never looked like getting the better of the home.

They looked disjointed in attack and rarely threatened the Mayo posts in any meaningful manner, but they still only trailed by four-points at the half-time whistle, albeit with a strong wind advantage.

Cavan needed a surge early in the second half to revive their fortunes but it failed to materialise as Mayo controlled matters around the middle and converted their possession into scores. By the final whistle, the game was long over as a contest.

Mayo: C Reape; J Coyne, D McBrien, S Callinan; S Coen (0-1), D McHugh, E McLaughlin (0-1); M Ruane (0-3), D O’Connor; J Carney (0-1), D McHale (0-2), J Flynn; C O’Connor (0-4), T Conroy, R O’Donoghue (0-7. 0-4fs)
Subs:C Loftus (0-1) for McHugh, B Tuohy for Carney, P Durcan for McLaughlin, A O’Shea for Conroy, P Towey for Ruane

Cavan: G O’Rourke; C Reilly, K Brady, B O’Connell; N Carolan, P Faulkner, Conor Brady; J Smith (1-0), Ciaran Brady (0-1); C Rehill, G Smith, O Kiernan (Castlerahan); O Brady (0-5, 0-5fs), O Kiernan (Denn) (0-1), J McLoughlin
Subs: T Madden (0-1) for K Brady, L Fortune for Rehill, C Madden for Carolan, C O’Reilly for Kiernan (Castlerahan, D Lovett for Conor Brady

LAST FIVE MEETINGS
2024 Mayo 0-20 Cavan 1-8 – All-Ireland
2019 Mayo 1-13 Cavan 0-11 – NFL
2017 Mayo 0-15 Cavan 1-14 – NFL
2007 Mayo 1-19 Cavan 3-7 – Qualifier
2005 Mayo 0-11 Cavan 0-8 Qualifier

SEASON SO FAR

Mayo

NFL
Dublin 1-17 Mayo 1-15
Mayo 0-16 Galway 0-26
Mayo 0-12 Tyrone 0-10
Armagh 1-17 Mayo 1-17
Mayo 0-21 Kerry 1-16
Derry 1-17 Mayo 2-19
Mayo 1-18 Donegal 1-16
Kerry 1-18 Mayo 1-12
CONNACHT SFC
Mayo 2-20 Sligo 2-17
Mayo 0-20 Leitrim 0-13
Galway 1-17 Mayo 1-15

Cavan

NFL
Cavan 0-22 Monaghan 2-22
Meath 3-21 Cavan 0-20
Cavan 3-15 Louth 0-18
Westmeath 0-21 Cavan 1-22
Cavan 1-20 Down 1-18
Roscommon 0-20 Cavan 0-22
Cavan 0-19 Cork 0-21
ULSTER SFC
Tyrone 1-24 Cavan 0-20

TOP SCORERS

Mayo
Ryan O’Donoghue 1-59 (30f, 4 tpf, 2 tp, 1 tp sideline)
Mattie Ruane 0-17 (1 tp)
Frank Irwin 1-10
Darren McHale 1-10

Cavan
Gearóid McKiernan 1-31 (12f, 4 tpf, 3 tp)
Dara McVeety 0-28 (7 tp, 1 tpf, 1 f)
Sean McEvoy 0-15 (4f, 1 tpf)