NOT EVEN scares of this magnitude will hussle Derry manager Brian Mullins into any radical changes to the present so-called paratroop training system. "Our training is geared to June 2nd and the first round of the Ulster championship against Armagh at Celtic Park," emphasised Mullins after watching Brian McGilligan kick a late winning point to frustrate a Cavan team that deserved much more out of this National Football League quarter final at Clones yesterday.
This was a roller coaster type of match and a glittering advertisement for Ulster football. It also gave further evidence of Cavan's status as an emerging force. They took on their more fancied opponents with a refreshing approach that won new admirers in the 12,000-strong crowd and showed a convincing tactical awareness that on occasion Derry did not quite match.
The match was top heavy with irony from a Cavan viewpoint, but they will especially rue the first and final minutes of it. It was most ironic to see their sharp shooter, Ronan Carolan, miskick an easy, close-in free wide of the near post in the opening minute and then to watch Derry midfielder Brian McGilligan - who was hardly afforded a kick of the ball in the second half - land the winning point in the 61st minute from 35 yards out.
Had Derry full forward Seamus Downey kicked that winning point it would not have been in the least surprising. The Lavey star was on target all day with classical long-range scores, five in all, including one from a free.
Cavan will also view as ironic the fact that Westmeath referee Pat Casserly awarded them 17 frees - against three for Derry - in the first hall, only to wave play on midway through the second half when what seemed a foul on corner forward, Fintan Cahill might well have merited a penalty.
The move leading up to this controversial incident involved Dermot McCabe and Peter Reilly. Cahill appeared to be fouled, but managed a shot from close range which was scooped away by Jonathan Kelly.
Cavan's midfield pairing of Stephen King and Aidan Connolly played exhilarating stuff in the second half, so much so that the introduction of Anthony Tohill for Derry six minutes into the second half made absolutely no difference.
But a great 40-metre race for possession between Henry Downey and his opposite number, Dermot McCabe, during yet another probing Cavan attack in search of the winning score in the dying seconds clearly demonstrated the high levels of commitment in the Derry defence.
Indeed the Derry half back line presented the Cavan attack with a mammoth task. Sean M Lockhart, Downey and Fergal McCusker were alert to the frequent dangers and Tony Scullion did a great job in the left corner by curbing and dispossessing the threatening Fintan Cahill.
At the other end the displays of Cavan defenders Damien O'Reilly and Bernard Morris also stood out.
