Cavan manager Raymond Galligan insists he wasn’t surprised by his side’s sensational All-Ireland SFC win over Mayo.

The Breffni boys claimed their biggest scalp in years with a richly-deserved 1-17 to 1-14 victory in Castlebar.  

“It was just a great all-round performance and I’m really proud of them,” Galligan enthused.

“They’re waiting so long to take a step by beating a good, top Division 1 team. We always knew that we had great players and I think the lads felt today was going to be the day.”

The former All-Star goalkeeper continued: “If we were playing in Division 1, or in the All-Ireland series year-on-year, these boys would get the same exposure - Niall Carolan, Cian Reilly, Cormac O’Reilly, they’re All-Star-nomination type players.

“We knew that we were no bad team, we were a kick of a ball from Division 1.

“There was enough evidence over the last three months that we could really compete, so we put a massive emphasis on our athleticism and fitness over the last five weeks because we knew we had to match Mayo.

“The one thing that stood out in the Connacht final was that they had huge athleticism, so we had to match that, and then we had to bring another layer of aggression, physicality and willingness to work.”

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