Ulster SFC: Cavan And Antrim Do Battle For Semi-Final Spot
By Daire Walsh
An Ulster Senior Football Championship semi-final spot is up for grabs tomorrow afternoon as Cavan and Antrim lock horns at Kingspan Breffni Park (throw-in 1.15pm).
It will be a quick turnaround for the former, following their impressive extra-time victory over neighbours Monaghan at St Tiernan’s Park, Clones last Saturday. Given that pulsating clash was a preliminary round affair, the winner was always going to face a hectic schedule if they had designs on provincial glory.
Should the Breffni boys claim the Anglo-Celt Cup for the first time since 1997, they will do so having played four championship games in the space of just 22 days. However when you consider the position Mickey Graham’s side found themselves in for large stretches of their tussle with Monaghan, they will be thrilled to still be in the race for an Ulster title.
When referee Ciaran Branagan brought the first half of normal time to an end six days ago, Cavan trailed Seamus McEnaney’s charges by all of seven points (1-11 to 1-4). Despite having a strong breeze at their backs on the resumption, the prospect of a second consecutive championship success at the expense of their arch rivals appeared unlikely.
Whereas Monaghan had retained their Division One league status the previous weekend courtesy of a drawn encounter with Meath, a defeat at the hands of Roscommon saw Cavan slipping down to Division Three for 2021.
Nevertheless, the knockout element of this game ensured the 39-time champions were going to fight tooth and nail to stay in the frame. Thanks to final-quarter point from Gearoid McKiernan (two), Martin Reilly, Niall Murray and Gerard Smith, Cavan spectacularly forced an additional 20 minutes of play.
Colin Walshe and Andrew Woods points for Monaghan did leave them adrift midway through extra-time, but once again the home team produced the goods when it mattered most. The dependable Reilly punched to the net to edge Cavan back in front, but this was only the beginning of the drama.
After Farney netminder Rory Beggan stepped forward to convert a long-distance free, his opposite number Raymond Galligan did likewise to propel Cavan towards an outstanding 2-15 to 1-17 win. 2019 saw Cavan reaching an Ulster final for the first time in 18 years and with 12 of the players who featured in that showpiece reversal to Donegal seeing action the last day out, they will believe it is within their grasp to replicate that journey.
It was a team effort to get them over the line in Clones last Saturday with no fewer than 12 players getting their name on the scoresheet. Gearoid McKiernan is perhaps the star attraction in this Breffni team and his 0-3 haul from play was crucial in getting his side past the challenge of Monaghan.
Yet having come through that test as underdogs, Cavan will now have to deal with the favourites tag. Antrim are certainly coming into this tie under the radar after being idle on the opening weekend of the championship.
There is also little or no recent history between these teams in the championship, with their last meeting coming way back in 2009. On that occasion, Paddy Cunningham registered 0-4 to give Antrim a 0-13 to 1-7 win in the Ulster semi-final.
This was the Saffron county’s second major scalp in that year’s championship, following their shock defeat of Donegal in the previous round. Although they subsequently fell short to Tyrone in the provincial decider, Cunningham once again showcased his worth with an 11 point haul.
The Lamh Dhearg club star hasn’t featured for Antrim in the championship since 2014, but is now set for a belated return after being named alongside Conor Murray and Patrick McBride in the full-forward line for the trip to Cavan.
Even though Cunningham has battled Crohn’s Disease in recent years, he has continued to shine on the Antrim club scene and was a virtual ever-present in the county team’s recently-completed Division Four National Football League campaign.
Over the course of seven appearances, the 35 year old accumulated a combined tally of 0-31. Team manager Lenny Harbinson will hope he doesn’t have too much of a scoring burden to carry in this last-eight affair and the encouraging displays of Patrick McBride suggests there will be ample support in attack.
When Cunningham was rested for a meeting with eventually fourth-tier champions Limerick at Portglenone on March 1, McBride was the Saffron scorer-in-chief with a grand total of seven points. Odhran Eastwood grabbed two goals in that 2-21 to 1-12 triumph, while Ruairi McCann also found the net twice in the opening round victory against Wexford.
Both men are selected on the bench for tomorrow’s game and are expected to be called upon at some point. Aside from a heavy 7-11 to 0-7 reversal to Wicklow three weeks ago, Antrim were extremely competitive in Division Four.
Their only other defeat in the competition was in the second round back on February 2 when Sligo claimed the spoils by the slenderest of margins (0-15 to 0-14). They finished just one point shy of both Limerick and Wicklow, who will be joining Cavan in Division Three of the NFL next year.
Harbinson’s outfit will be eager to show they too are capable of being amongst this company and prove their performance against Wicklow was simply an outlier rather than a true reflection of their current standing.
In spite of this, if Cavan can match the final 60 minutes of last week’s performance against Monaghan, then they will most likely be preparing for a penultimate phase showdown with either Fermanagh or Down on November 15.