Cavan produced a dominant performance by beating Down 0-24 to 1-12 at Kingspan Breffni Park in the Tailteann Cup first round.
Down’s Ruairi O’Hare immediately put the hosts on the back foot by providing the opening score and finding the Cavan net on eight minutes.
Cavan responded by buckling down and swatting the Down side with a barrage of offensive plays, accruing over six points in the space of eight minutes.
Cavan's Patrick Lynch, Gerard Smith, Oisin Kiernan and James Smith were all on target while Down’s Barry O’Hagan, Odhran Murdock and Anthony Doherty proved successful in their attacks but scored sparsely and without any apparent urgency.
Cavan goalkeeper Raymond Galligan would bring the first half to a dramatic finish by saving a penalty awarded to Down, not once but twice (due to the need for a retake). The spot kick was awarded after a challenge by Patrick Lynch yielded a black card
The penalty was ordered to be retaken after Galligan repelled the first attempt and the Cavan shotstopper was equally successful in blocking the next attempt.
Raymond along with teammate Gearoid McKiernan would score a hat-trick of points in the first half, hitting the mark with accuracy four times before the half-time whistle blew where Cavan led 0-13 to 1-3.
Down only managed intermittent scores early in the second half while the potency of the Cavan’s forwards was supplemented by superb accuracy from Raymond Galligan who finished the day as Cavan's leading scorer with seven points.
A disheartening loss for Down but an important lesson in regaining and maintaining composure for Cavan. Mickey Graham's men can look forward to the quarter-finals next weekend.
