Cavan hoping for a change in fortunes

By Niall Gartland

CAVAN’S dire record against Tyrone barely needs repeating at this stage – but we’ll give it another airing anyway, ahead of Sunday’s Division Two encounter at Healy Park.

Having been pipped in their first two league matches, Dermot McCabe’s side could really do with a win against their old nemesis as they return from last weekend’s break in activity.

To do so, they’ll need to buck a trend stretching back years – decades even. It’s well-documented that Cavan haven’t won a single championship match against the Red Hands since 1983, and there have been plenty of meetings, but it’s not as if they’ve fared much better in the league.

They haven’t beaten Tyrone in the league since Martin McHugh’s side ended a 12-year unbeaten run in Dungannon in 1997 (Cavan had a rather good season that year…) but there’s still reason to be hopeful of a long-awaited win this weekend.

Tyrone aren’t really firing on all cylinders, Healy Park is no fortress, Cavan have lost both their matches to date by a single, solitary point – is this the big moment they end their hoodoo against the Red Hands?

We’ll soon find out, but there’s plenty of things to shore up if they’re to get some points on the board this Sunday. They showed real grit to get back into the game against Meath on their last day out, but their opponents could really have found themselves out of sight only for a series of sloppy moments at the crunch stage of attacks.

Positives included the performances of Dara McVeety, making his 100th appearance, Oisin Brady, who put in a huge shift, Gearóid McKiernan and Gerard Smith. Structurally, though, there are issues to be ironed out, particularly in defence, and the fact that Tyrone need a win almost as badly as Cavan suggests they’re wait to get one over the Red Hands could extend for another while yet.