Lynch loss may scupper Cavan’s hopes of ambush
Diarmuid O'Connor is surrounded by Cavan's Martin Reilly and Jack Brady during Mayo's victory in the 2019 Allianz Football League Division 1 clash at MacHale Park, Castlebar. Picture: INPHO/Evan Logan
The heartache of losing the Connacht final to Galway, particularly the manner in which it happened, will need to be parked as Mayo next Saturday begin their All-Ireland Championship campaign with a home tie against Cavan.
The history of this fixture, and current standings, suggests only one winner: Mayo and Cavan have played 37 times across the league and championships, with Mayo winning 22 and Cavan 12, with three draws.
The last meeting was also in Castlebar back on February 9, 2019 in the National Football League, with Mayo winning 1-13 to 0-11. Of the Mayo team who played that day, only Michael Plunkett, Stephen Coen, Paddy Durcan, Diarmuid O’Connor and Aidan O’Shea remain in the squad. Cillian O’Connor and Ryan O’Donoghue were out with injuries while Rob Hennelly was an unused substitute.
There was more disappointment than anger coming out of Salthill on Sunday week last as Connor Gleeson’s 75th minute free condemned Mayo to defeat, and their best chance of silverware this year. Some will point at the decisions of referee David Gough but Mayo only had themselves to blame. A lack of ruthlessness in front of the posts and the failure to capitalise on leads at half-time, midway through the second-half and even into stoppage-time, proved costly.
But we will get an answer this Saturday as to whether there is another kick in this side over the next three months or is the season is bound to finish in an anti-climax? Kevin McStay is taking the more optimistic view, that’s for sure.
“Losing by a point, it’s not nice, but it’s not a million miles away from winning by a point. I know that sounds crazy, but we still are a decent team. We still are able to go toe-to-toe with Galway. So we know we are going to be competitive in this round robin no matter what we’re doing,” he said in the aftermath of the Pearse Stadium result.
Paddy Durcan (calf) will be expected to return to duty given McStay said the Mayo captain could have played some part in the Connacht final but with the group stages coming up, no chances were being taken. Cillian and Diarmuid O’Connor both made appearances off the bench and it will be interesting to see whether either or both are thrown into the starting up this weekend given Mayo’s inefficiencies in attack.
The only certainty to miss the Cavan game is James Carr. The Ardagh forward, according to Mayo GAA, last week underwent a procedure on a meniscal injury, to repair cartilage damage to his knee. “He will commence rehab shortly and we look forward to his return in the coming weeks,” read a statement.
Even though Carr, because of other injuries, has featured only once this season, as a second-half subs against Monaghan, it still leaves McStay short in an area that has been problematic for Mayo all year. Signs, however, are that Tommy Conroy is returning to his best. The Neale flier caused the Galway defence plenty of issues and scored two great points, and a greater return over the coming weeks would give Mayo another dimension to their attack and help ease the burden on Ryan O’Donoghue.
You can literally count on one hand the number of times Mayo and Cavan have met in the championship, the most famous meetings being the 1932 and 1937 All-Ireland semi-finals, winning one each, and the 1948 All-Ireland final in which Cavan prevailed by a point.
It would be another 57 years before the two would meet again and Mayo have won the last two meetings, both in the All-Ireland Qualifiers of 2005 and 2007.
Since Raymond Galligan took charge late last year, the Breffni outfit have enjoyed a solid league campaign with Division 2 wins over Kildare, Cork and Louth, a draw against Meath and defeats to the Ulster trio of Donegal, Armagh and Fermanagh. They enjoyed a fine first-round win over Monaghan in Ulster before falling to an agonising one-point defeat to Tyrone in the quarter-finals after extra-time.
Central to their league and championship form was the free-scoring exploits of Paddy Lynch. The Crosserlough forward was top scorer across all four divisions of the National Football League and also struck 1-9 and 0-5 in the Ulster Championship encounters against Monaghan and Tyrone. With an overall tally of 2-60, he has been as crucial to the Breffni’s men attack as Ryan O’Donoghue is to Mayo, however, Cavan’s ambitions for the All-Ireland series have been dealt a major blow with Lynch sustaining an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
They still boast a strong side nonetheless. Cian Madden and Oisín Brady are capable of troubling the best defences while at the back, Niall Carolan, Padraig Faulkner and Brian O’Connell are as adept in stopping attacks as they are in supporting, as evidenced in that Ulster final.
Having not played in a month, Cavan will be primed and ready for an ambush, and a first win over Mayo since a National League encounter in 2017. However, Mayo’s greater strength across the pitch should see them over the line – but it will be far from straightforward.
