Cavan hoping to keep the pressure on top two

By Niall Gartland

THERE’S very little room for error in Division Two so neither Cavan or visitors Meath can afford to fall short in Saturday’s league encounter at Kingspan Breffni.

Cavan sit third in the table while Meath hover close by in fourth position, but the way things are going, any more dropped points could spell the end of either team’s promotion aspirations.

The Breffni County will be delighted with how their last two games finished up, claiming victories on the road against Cork and Louth, but it doesn’t really get any easier with Meath coming to town on Saturday.

With six points on the board, Cavan are mathematically safe following an ill-tempered win over Louth in a hostile Ardee last weekend.

The last quarter made for nervy viewing but they held on in a game that had roughly as many negatives as positives on the day from the perspective of their manager Raymond Galligan.

There were fine individual performances scattered throughout the team – Gary O’Rourke has big shoes to fill in between the posts but delivered a commanding performance, Killian Brady did well on Sam Mulroy, Jason McLoughlin likewise on Ryan Burns, while Padraig Faulker and Niall Carolan were both outstanding, and not for the first time this league campaign.

Forwards like Paddy Lynch (pictured), Oisin Brady and Gerard Smith did very well while Killian Clarke got through a mountain of work in the middle even if they seem to lack a traditional midfield type player. Their subs also did well, in particular Cian Reilly who has really put himself in contention for a starting berth.

On the flipside, they brought the ball into contact too often, particularly in the first half, their defence was somewhat porous in that opening 35 minutes and they made hard enough work of getting the victory having led Louth by half a dozen points at the start of the second half.

Their upcoming opponents Meath will be in good spirits having claimed a comeback victory over Kildare last weekend, a result that has probably secured their Division Two status for another season.

Defensively, barring their loss to Armagh, they have been solid but they are struggling for consistency up front and they look a bit shaky in the middle sector, unsurprisingly given Conor Gray has been fighting illness while Jack Flynn, man of the match in last year’s Tailteann Cup final, has left the panel.

With that in mind, Cavan look a bit more solid at the moment and if they play to their potential, they can keep the pressure on top-placed sides Armagh and Donegal as the league enters the business stages.