NFL Division Two: Cavan 3-15 Louth 0-18
A game of if onlys in Cavan. If only Louth, for instance, hadn’t kicked three two-pointers in the opening half then Cavan would have been ahead, instead of one behind, with seven minutes to go.
Cavan, desperate for a win after two previous defeats in Division Two, led briefly in the first half but not again until the 64th minute of this complex and intriguing encounter.
That is when the if onlys kicked in from Louth’s perspective as they gifted the Breffni two goals which set the seal on a badly needed win for Cavan.
The home team had not won in Cavan since May 2023 but when Conor Madden intercepted a 64th minute Niall McDonnell kickout and returned the ball to the Louth net, it finally tipped the balance their way.
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Just two minutes later, Gearoid McKiernan tried for a point that dropped short and could not believe his luck as McDonnell, backpeddling and apparently disoriented, failed to stop it going in over his head for Cavan’s third goal.
It was one of those days for McDonnell, Louth’s Leinster final goalkeeper of 2024, who got caught out with a couple of earlier kick-outs that Cavan could not punish.
Louth will also rue their inability to grab a goal with half a dozen decent chances carved out by Ger Brennan’s crew who ultimately slumped to their second defeat in three games.
“Look, it’s just one of those things,” shrugged Louth manager Brennan of McDonnell’s difficulties. “He has gotten us out of so many holes, he saved a peno today as well. And there was massive improvement on kickout statistics for ourselves this weekend. It was one of those things, a small portion of the game and a couple of goals go in. To be fair to Niall, he has done so much for this group in his short Louth career.
“Further out the field, there were opportunities that we left behind us and there were turnovers that killed us in the middle of the field, the middle channel, and Cavan punished us.”
For mid-February, on a sticky pitch, it was an enjoyable encounter with plenty of turnovers and speedy counter-attacking, facilitated by the new rules.
Jason McLoughlin struck Cavan’s first goal, dampening Louth’s mood after a strong start, while Dara McVeety, wearing number six but operating principally in attack, was excellent for the 2020 Ulster champions with four points.
McKiernan, just back after a season out, finished with 1-2 and underlined his generational talent again while Cavan goalkeeper Gary O’Rourke converted a free and pulled off a number of saves to deny Louth a goal.
“We knew it was a huge game in regards to the table,” said Cavan manager Galligan. “But also because we haven’t won here at Breffni in a long time. It was important to us to get a win for the fans who have been very loyal to us over the years.
“It would have been easy for the lads to drop their heads but look, they’ve done a huge amount of work over the last six, eight, 10 weeks. We knew we were always going to get the rub of the green once we kept working hard.”
It was a big improvement on Cavan’s 10-point round two defeat to Meath though Louth initially hinted at more heartache.
Ryan Burns boomed over a Louth two-pointer early on before adding another point and the visitors were good value for their 0-5 to 0-2 lead.
The McLoughlin goal and McVeety’s excellence hauled Cavan back but Louth were just about good value for their 0-12 to 1-7 half-time lead.
The sides were level twice after the restart but Louth, carving out five second-half goal chances, largely remained in pole position until those two calamitous goal concessions. They will host neighbours Down next Sunday while Cavan will travel to rock bottom Westmeath.
Cavan: G O’Rourke (0-0-1, 1f); B O’Connell, P Faulkner (0-0-1), J McLoughlin (1-0-0); N Carolan, L Fortune (0-0-1), O Kiernan; J Smith (0-0-2), E Crowe (0-0-1); G Smith, C Brady, O Brady (0-0-1); D Lovett G McKiernan (1-0-2, 2f), D McVeety (0-0-4).
Subs: S McEvoy for Lovett (40); Conor Madden (1-1-0) for Faulkner (50); Cian Madden for O Brady (55); K Clarke for Crowe (59); R O’Neill for G Smith (67).
Louth: N McDonnell; D McKenny, D Campbell, D Nally; C McKeever, P Lynch, F Malone; T Durnin (0-1-0), C Grimes; A McDonnell (0-1-0), S Mulroy (0-0-6, 3f), L Jackson (0-0-2); R Burns (0-1-1), V Leddy, C Downey (0-0-2).
Subs: L Gray for Malone (40); C Keenan for Grimes (44); P Matthews for Leddy (44); C Byrne for McDonnell (52); C Murphy (0-0-1) for Nally (52); P McStravick for McKeever (62-f/t, blood).
Referee: P Faloon (Down).
