Cavan Gaels 2-8
Mullahoran 1-8

by Shane Corrigan
at Kingspan Breffni Park

Goals from Sean Johnston and Eamon Reilly ushered Cavan Gaels past Mullahoran and into the semi-finals of the senior championship tonight at Kingspan Breffni Park.

Joe O'Connor's men were worthy winners having outplayed the champions for much of the game, with Mullahoran having to wait until the 15th minute for their first score after which the Gaels had already posted 1-3, 1-1 of which came from the returning Johnston.

Philip Brady was largely responsible for igniting the Dreadnoughts' fight back, sending over two quick points on the quarter hour mark and earning a free for marksman Enda O'Reilly to covert, but they still trailed by four at the half due to Martin Dunne's deadly accuracy.

A Paul Brady goal two minutes into the restart looked to be exactly what Mullahoran required to go on and win the game, as they drew level and then took the lead in the 39th minute, but the Gaels landed a hammer blow to their hopes when Eamon Reilly was allowed to roam through from centre-back and blast to the net.

Reilly would see red in injury-time, as the game threatened to boil over between these two old rivals, but two fine points from substitute Declan Meehan beforehand all but ensured the win and a last four berth for the Terry Coyle Park club.

The winners couldn't have asked for a better start against the holders after Paul O'Connor's effort of a point fell perfectly for Johnston to poach and bury past Dominic Crudden. Quick points from O'Connor and Dunne (free) followed before Johnston landed the score of the night from the right corner, splitting the posts of the town end goals.

Mullahoran had already racked up three wides and the signs were ominous until Brady fired over two points in the space of a minute to halt the one-way traffic. A beauty from the left boot of Peter Paul Galligan truly lifted the Killydoon men as they were soon within two when Brady got dragged down on route to goal and O'Reilly converted the resultant free.

Danny Brady's chargers failed to take control of the game from there tough, allowing their opponents to go on and own the remainder of the half, which saw Eamon Reilly setting up Dunne to restore a three-point advantage and the All-Ireland SFC's top scorer repeated the trick in the added minutes to send his team in with a 1-5 to 0-4 lead.

Veteran Fergal Brady was introduced by Mullahoran for the second-half and they resumed the game in brilliant fashion, with an O'Reilly free coming off the upright and bouncing into the path of Paul Brady, who bundled the ball across the goal line. A superb point from veteran Tomas Nannery levelled and the Longford border side's only lead of the night would follow when O'Reilly converted a free and Philip Brady doubled it.

Robert Maloney-Derham and Declan Meehan were soon introduced to the fray and proved timely substitutes, with the latter landing a fantastic long range score after Dunne raised a trademark white flag via some twisting and turning which led to enough space for him to curl over off his left boot.

At 1-7 each, the final quarter was set to be an intriguing one with so much on the line for both sides, but it was the Gaels that made the major breakthrough once more when O'Connor's blocked shot fell into the arms of Reilly, who caught Mullahoran's defence on a lapse, and was allowed to round Crudden and dispatch to the empty net.

Meehan rifled over to ensure the Cavan town's side lead at four, with under 10 minutes remaining, and it was at that stage when things started to turn nasty as a number of brawls broke out in different sectors of the field. Reilly would come out the worst of it as he picked up a second yellow card for dismissal, but he surely wasn't the only guilty party, and there was even suggestions of mistaken identity by referee John Cassidy from the Gaels bench over their centre-back's sending off.

It made little difference in the end though, as the victors fended off Mullahoran's goal threat in eight minutes of injuty-time as they could only muster a O'Reilly free which left them a goal short in the end.

Cavan Gaels: Martin Cassidy; Niall Gurhy, Mark Leddy, Cathal Collins; Niall Murray, Eamonn Reilly (1-0), Levi Murphy; Dominic Reilly, Barry Fortune; Paul Graham, Michael Lyng, Kevin Meehan; Sean Johnston (1-1), Paul O'Connor (0-1), Martin Dunne (0-4,1f). Subs: Robert Maloney-Derham for Murray (38mins), Declan Meehan (0-2) for K Meehan (38), Karl Crotty for Collins (47), Conor McClarey for D Reilly (52), Daragh Sexton for Gurhy (56, inj).

Mullahoran: Dominic Crudden; Seanie Smith, Killian Brady, Darren O'Reilly; James Reilly, Paddy Brady, Daniel O'Reilly; Christy Shields, Peter Paul Galligan (0-1); Paul Brady (1-0), Enda O'Reilly (0-3, 3f), Tomas Nannery (0-1); Philip Brady (0-3), Raymond Lynch, Damien McArdle. Subs: Fergal Brady for D O'Reilly (HT), Shane Shields for D McArdle (53), Dermot Sheridan for J Reilly (56), Daniel Smith for Nannery (60).

Ref: John Cassidy (Shannon Gaels) Tweet

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