Rufus T Firefly
Well-Known Member
Apologies for my promptness in putting this up, as there is still a lot to discuss on the Down thread, but I wanted to open a new thread to - if possible - prevent the Down thread becoming a 2019 Championship Super Thread.
For me, this will bring back memoris of our victory over them at the semi-final stage in 2004 as we started out on the road to three-in-a-row in Ulster. My recollection of that game was that they had a man sent off early on and that we seemed to take our foot off the pedal and think we could coast to victory. Cavan responded well and the match became a real arm wrestle, and I remember it was the introduction of Brian Mallon (was that a Senior Championship debut?) with two late points that sealed victory, in front of a crown of over 28,000.
I watched the Cavan v Monaghan game on Saturday evening and I thought it was clear that Cavan had been building up to that game from a long way out, and that Monaghan were caught out badly by the intensity of the Cavan approach. Cavan were also helped by a very generous penalty and that goal was important in the context of the match as Monaghan threatened a comeback but could not get nearer than three points. My sense is that that was a bit of a final for Cavan and my hope is that they will take us for granted.
On the flip side, we squeezed through in a thriller without playing particularly well and with plenty to work on. Although Cavan will be justifiable favourites, they should represent no fears to our fells and there is no reason why we can't go toe-to-toe with them and come out on the right side of a victory.
For me, this will bring back memoris of our victory over them at the semi-final stage in 2004 as we started out on the road to three-in-a-row in Ulster. My recollection of that game was that they had a man sent off early on and that we seemed to take our foot off the pedal and think we could coast to victory. Cavan responded well and the match became a real arm wrestle, and I remember it was the introduction of Brian Mallon (was that a Senior Championship debut?) with two late points that sealed victory, in front of a crown of over 28,000.
I watched the Cavan v Monaghan game on Saturday evening and I thought it was clear that Cavan had been building up to that game from a long way out, and that Monaghan were caught out badly by the intensity of the Cavan approach. Cavan were also helped by a very generous penalty and that goal was important in the context of the match as Monaghan threatened a comeback but could not get nearer than three points. My sense is that that was a bit of a final for Cavan and my hope is that they will take us for granted.
On the flip side, we squeezed through in a thriller without playing particularly well and with plenty to work on. Although Cavan will be justifiable favourites, they should represent no fears to our fells and there is no reason why we can't go toe-to-toe with them and come out on the right side of a victory.
