Cavan attacker Eugene Keating is hopeful that the Breffni County can make the most of their second bite at the cherry.

Beaten by Armagh in the first round of the Ulster SFC, Terry Hyland's charges open their Qualifier campaign at home to Westmeath tomorrow afternoon. And Keating has his fingers crossed that the border county can repeat their sensational backdoor run of last year, which brought them all the way to the All-Ireland quarter-finals:

"I don't think we performed anywhere near the levels that we can against Armagh," the St Sylvesters clubman offers in The Irish News. "The thing about the Qualifiers, though, is that you get a second chance and we have to make sure we take that chance.

"We want to show that we aren't just a flash in the pan after last year. We want to show that we are capable of making an impact in the championship again this year.

"We got a good run last year in the Qualifiers and you never know what can happen. Sometimes it's easier to get to the latter stages of the All-Ireland by going through the Qualifiers.

"It all depends on the draw you get and hopefully we can get another good run this year. If you get a win or two, you start to get towards the latter end of the summer and into the business end of the championship.

"It is important not to look past Westmeath but the games come thick and fast and that's the beauty of it. Going on a run helps keep the spirits high and we are aiming to start that now." Tweet

Most Read Stories