Cavan skipper welcomes silver ahead of championship

By Michael McMullan

CAVAN captain Shauna Lynch is over the moon after the Breffni County crowned promotion from Division Three with victory over Wexford in Sunday’s league final.

They learned from defeat to the same opposition earlier in the season and now switch their focus to an Ulster Intermediate Championship date with Monaghan next month.

“It’s great to have a bit of silverware and promotion, so it’s fantastic,” Lynch told Gaelic Life.

“I think Ulster is super competitive as well,” she added of their next step. “We’re playing Monaghan who have been competing in Division Two of the league, that’s a step up.

“I think winning the league is massive for us, and getting into the habit of winning and playing well together, so we are excited for the Ulster Championship.”

Two Wexford goals spelt defeat for Cavan in Bunclody back in February. In terms of a promotion chase, it was a tough result to take at the time.

Cavan manager Emmet Daly flipped it on its head. Win or learn. They used their findings to push themselves back on the road to Sunday’s rematch.

“We definitely took a lot from that game,” Lynch pointed out. “We definitely improved as a team since that and I think we proved that yesterday (Sunday).”

With three weeks until the Monaghan championship game, there was time to celebrate the victory. There have been more tough days in the blue jersey than successful ones.

“Even though it was just a league game, it was a bit emotional to finally win something,” Lynch said.

“It was a great buzz, definitely, within the squad and the supporters, it was just class after the game yesterday.”

The Cavan players were back in club action on Wednesday night and county training resumes on Friday ahead of the championship. From then, it’ll be full steam ahead.

“I’m sure it’ll be foot on the pedal again,” she said. “There’ll be no let-off.

“We have another goal to reach, so definitely we’ll be training harder over the next few weeks, 100 per cent.”

For anyone outside the county, the underage development might have gone under the radar. Not within the county. Between club, school and county underage teams, there has been a litany of titles.

Senior progress and days like Sunday are so important to justify the level of work going on behind the scenes.

“It’s massive,” Lynch said of the county taking silverware home. “Especially coming off the back of last year, getting relegated into Division Three.

“It’s just a massive boost to see the football on the rise in Cavan.

“I think the underage coming through are showing that year in and year out. Now, it’s finally transpired into the senior team, which is fantastic.

“I think there was probably a lot of negative talk over the Cavan panels and the Cavan team over the years because we weren’t winning, but getting that winning habit is fantastic.

“The support we actually had at the game yesterday (Sunday) was unbelievable, considering that the men were playing as well (against Tyrone). There was great Cavan support there, and that was lovely to have behind us as well.”