Cavan canter to easy victory

Weather conditions were inappropriately miserable at Kingspan Breffni Park on Sunday afternoon last for the first day of "summer time" - and, while the mood was decidedly upbeat among Cavan supporters in the estimated 2,000 attendance after this NFL Division 3 encounter, it was certainly diametrically opposite in a Roscommon camp who experienced their second loss on the trot. This defeat leaves Roscommon with a very slim chance of involvement in the promotional shake-up. Both protagonists had experienced 6-point reverses a week previously, Roscommon feeling the pain of a rising Tipp tide at Dr. Hyde Park, while the Breffni men left O"Connor Park empty-handed after a reportedly anaemic display. It was, accordingly, vital for the two sides to return to winning ways entering Sunday"s confrontation. Third placed Roscommon needed victory to draw level with Down (big winners over Offaly the previous night at Newry), thereby setting up a huge tie with the Mournemen at 'the Hyde' on Easter Sunday, while Cavan would be in grave danger of relegation to Division 4 if they suffered another reverse. Against this background and under leaden skies, the Primrose and Blue and the Royal Blues, raced out onto the plush surface of Breffni Park where squally rain would persist for practically the game"s entire duration. Roscommon"s starting formation showed four changes from that on the programme - Peter Domican, Seán Purcell, Donal Shine and Derek Connellan introduced for Seán McDermott, Paul Kelly, Michael Finneran and Ger Heneghan, with Brian Higgins moving to midfield and Donal Shine at left half-forward. The Rossies would enjoy the benefit of the first-half breeze and, although conceding first blood to their hosts when Seán Johnston sent over a smart point in the 3rd minute, the subsequent trend of play indicated, for a time, better things to come. Senan Kilbride (free) had the sides level (5th minute), but, while known Cavan dangermen Larry Reilly and Seán Johnston combined to draw the foul for the Cavan Gaels man to point the resultant free, Roscommon then established a virtual stranglehold on possession for the next 12 minutes or so. This received early reward when Senan Kilbride had a brace of points - the first (8th minute) when punishing a foul on himself, and the second a minute later when the St. Brigid"s No. 14 seized on a breaking ball from Clann na nGael"s John Dunning. Rare Cavan forward forays were being capably dealt with by a Roscommon rearguard where Peter Domican, John Nolan and David Casey, in particular, were as solid as the proverbial rock, while Seamus O"Neill and Brian Higgins were winning the midfield battle. A beleaguered home defence was forced into the concession of frees, but then followed a spell of play which sowed the seeds of doubt into the minds of the sizeable Ros" support. From the 10th to the 17th minutes, five scorable wides were registered. What could, and should have been a six-point lead on the scoreboard for Fergal O"Donnell"s charges remained at the minimum margin, and from the 19th minute onwards, a resurgent Cavan careered right back into contention. One could sense a palpable increase in confidence among their supporters as a brace of pointed frees from their subsequent top scorer Seán Johnston (19th and 22nd minutes) edged the Ulster side into a lead that in no way reflected the earlier run of play. But a rising tide raises all boats, and a hitherto lacklustre home display suddenly gave way to a much higher level of determination and confidence, even if the overall standard on view never reached any great heights. Improving centre-back Paul Brady joined in a 5-man attacking move, in which the Mullahoran defender drew a fine save from Ros" custodian Geoffrey Claffey at the concession of a fruitless '45', followed by a splendid point from play by Drung midfielder Ciarán Galligan. Roscommon made a double substitution with Seán McDermott and Conor Devaney introduced, five minutes from half-time, but another Johnston pointed free brought Cavan their 6th point. Brian Higgins saw his 34th minute effort come off the Cavan post, but Roscommon - who hadn"t scored for 26 minutes despite being wind-assisted - finally found the target with a Senan Kilbride pointed free just on 35 minutes. The St. Brigid"s marksman was his team"s only scorer in that opening moiety at the end of which they trailed by two points (0-6 to 0-4), an unlikely scenario midway through the half. Tommy Carr"s Blues received a welcome boost just 47 seconds from the restart when Ciarán Galligan sent over his second long-range effort from play, but the wides" malaise continued for the visitors with a further brace of scorable misses. Full-back Dermot Sheridan stormed upfield to make the road for sub Eugene Keating"s 41st minute point, following which Roscommon suffered a hammer-blow when John Dunning was red-carded following an incident involving Cavan sub and corner-back Michael Brides. Play continued to be punctuated by cheaply conceded possession and poor passing on both sides, but four unanswered points, straddling the 46th and 62nd minutes, further consolidated the Cavan renaissance against now 14-man opponents. Seán Johnston (free), Larry Reilly, Martin Reilly and Jason Reilly were all on target in this spell, while it took a John Nolan goal-line block to prevent Cavan wing-forward Ronan Flanagan from raising a green flag (58th minute). Ger Heneghan had Roscommon"s first score for 22 minutes when pointing a free following a foul on Karol Mannion. It would prove Roscommon"s last score on an afternoon which saw them bid adieu to any promotion hopes, barring a landslide win over Down, on Sunday week. With the two points on offer now assured, Cavan finished in some style with further points from Michael Lyng and Seán Johnston, the latter emerging as his team"s top scorer with seven points. A surprising aspect of that second-half Cavan rally was, immediately after Larry Reilly and Michael Lyng scored their points in this period, they were promptly replaced. The victory means Cavan have improved their League position from 6th place to 3rd, albeit on scoring difference, and will head for Drogheda on Easter Sunday in upbeat mood to take on Louth. They are still a work in progress, however, and much work needs to be done prior to their big Ulster SFC Quarter-Final against either Fermanagh or Down on June 6. With spirits so high following that terrific win in Drogheda, which maintained their position at the top of the table, this second consecutive Roscommon reverse has derailed their challenge for promotion. That first quarter spell of wayward marksmanship appeared to unsettle the team as they steadily fell further into arrears as the game progressed. The loss of John Dunning deprived the attack of a diligent competitor, but this alone cannot explain the fact that their starting forward formation finished the hour with only one point from play. But for the superb performances of defenders John Nolan, the excellent Peter Domican, the sheer work ethic of centre-back David Casey, and the soundness personified display of goalie Geoffrey Claffey, they would have shipped an even heavier final defeat. And while Brian Higgins had a superb first half on the centre of the park, their hosts would steadily gain 2nd half ascendancy in this sector. As stated, it was not a good day at the office for their forward formation, with only Senan Kilbride and John Dunning offering a consistent threat in this area, with wing-back Sean Purcell the only other player on the side to score from play. SCORERS - Cavan: S Johnston 0-7 (5f); C Galligan 0-2; E Keating, L Reilly, Jason Reilly, M Reilly, M Lyng 0-1 each. Roscommon - S Kilbride 0-4 (3f); S Purcell 0-1; G Heneghan 0-1f. CAVAN: James Reilly, Martin Cahill, Dermot Sheridan, Keith Fannin, John McCutcheon, Paul Brady, Rory Dunne, Lorcan Mulvey, Ciarán Galligan, David Givney, Michael Lyng, Ronan Flanagan, Larry Reilly, Eddie Reilly, Seán Johnston. Subs: Eugene Keating for Givney (18), Michael Brides for Cahill (35), Martin Reilly for L Reilly (50), Nicholas Walsh for E Reilly (55), Jason Reilly for Walsh (yellow card, 60), Dermot McCabe for Lyng (66). ROSCOMMON: Geoffrey Claffey, Ronan Brady, John Nolan, Peter Domican, David Keenan, David Casey, Seán Purcell, Seamus O"Neill, Brian Higgins, Gary Cox (Capt), Karol Mannion, Donal Shine, Derek Connellan, Senan Kilbride, John Dunning. Subs: Seán McDermott and Conor Devaney for Connellan and Shine (both 30), Michael Finneran for O"Neill (50), Ger Heneghan for Cox (60), Pádraig Duignan for Brady (yellow card, 67). REFEREE: Rory Hickey (Clare).