There is a very real possibility that if Cavan return to Division One football this weekend, they will do so with just a single goal registered in their credit column.
Those who have decried the “death of football” in recent days will shake their head at that remarkable statistic and file it away as a neat summary of the modern, defensively-minded game.
Cavan have certainly placed a premium on solid defending, generally restricting teams to 10 scores or less in this year's Division Two campaign. Last time out, they conceded just 1-3 to Westmeath, ironically the game when they also broke their own goal duck with a Brendan Fitzpatrick strike.
Cavan manager Terry Hyland is unapologetic about how they do their business and pointed to the league table as the ultimate arbiter.
With just one game left to play in Division Two, against Meath in Navan on Sunday, Cavan are sitting pretty indeed with the potential to be group winners and to gain back to back promotions.
Hyland said he won’t be putting any extra pressure on his team to find the net at Páirc Tailteann and will be quite happy if they point their way to victory again.
“The talk for a while there was that we were the only team without a goal but at the end of the day it’s about winning league matches,” said Hyland.
“It wasn’t an issue for us at any stage. It does seem to be an issue for media. Okay, it’s a talking point but it has made no difference to us whatsoever. We were creating chances all along and that’s the important thing.
Only statistic
“I can’t say if we’ll need a goal on Sunday. Consistency of performance is more what we need and if the game doesn’t get away from us and if it’s a two- or three-point game, then you’re not necessarily going to need a goal to win it. It is a statistic and that’s it. The only statistic that really matters is the scoreboard.”
Hyland has listened to the discussion regarding football and how it is played in recent weeks. High-profile, low-scoring ties between Donegal and Monaghan, Dublin and Tyrone and, last weekend, Dublin and Derry have led to suggestions that football has become a boring spectacle in need of overhaul.
Cavan haven’t escaped criticism and were labelled “the Black Death” by one pundit while navigating their way to the 2013 All-Ireland quarter-finals with a defensive approach.
“I think it’s all a bit of an overreaction If you look back through this year’s league, a lot of games were played in bad weather conditions,” said Hyland. “I know we played in wet, heavy, windy conditions in some of our games. People don’t factor that in.
“People say the Derry/Dublin game wasn’t great to look at. But Derry were always going to set out their stall not to be hockeyed after the league final last year. You can talk about the greater good but the greater good isn’t much good to Derry if they’re beaten out the gate.
Immediate issue
“I think you’ve got to look at the stats too and the breakdown. Compare the pick of players in Derry and Dublin. There are a lot of variables that come into it which possibly aren’t considered by the public or media.”
The more immediate issue for Cavan is gaining promotion this weekend. With four teams realistically in the hunt for two spots, all sorts of outcomes are on the table, such as last season’s Division Three promoted sides, Cavan and Roscommon, both going up again.
Roscommon's manager, John Evans, has said his team may not be ready for Division One football yet though Hyland believes Cavan could cope.
“You look at Monaghan who went up last year – they were in Division Three two years ago,” said Hyland. “They’re holding their own in Division One now. We can compete equally with Monaghan. They beat us by a point in the Championship two years ago, we beat them by three points in the McKenna Cup this year.
“You may say the Dubs, Kerry, Mayo, Cork are in a different league to other teams. But Monaghan have taken points off those sides and were unlucky against Cork at home. Being up there with those teams is somewhere we’d love to be.”
