Cavan 2-11 Derry 1-16
Derry are slowly emerging as the dark horse for this years Ulster championship as they beat the reigning champions Cavan, to make it three wins from three in Division 3.
Last week we saw a domino of hamstring injuries, most notably Michael Murphy, very early on against Monaghan, and this unfortunate trend seems to be continuing as Brendan Rodgers looks to be the latest victim.
With less than 10 minutes remaining, the Derry full-back was in full flow and just as he started to open up his stride it was as though a sniper hit him, pin-point in the back of the leg. His hand instantly clutched the injury and he knew straight away what it was.
Eamon Fitzmaurice suggested last weekend that there should be a warm-up in-between the national anthem being played and throw in, in order to fire the muscles up again and prevent injuries.
The good news for Derry though is that their winning streak continues and is correlating perfectly with Shane McGuigan’s own personal hot streak, as the forward notched up eight points, with his first coming in the opening 12 seconds of the game.
Niall Loughlin was on fiery form also and scored a wonderful individual goal, darting past the defender on the left side, before carrying it right up the goal mouth and slotting it past All-star Raymond Galligan, from a tight angle.
Top class goal from Niall Loughlin for @Doiregaa v @CavanCoBoardGaa in Round 3 of the Allianz Football League #GAANOW pic.twitter.com/I8a3J3jghD
— The GAA (@officialgaa) May 29, 2021
Conor Glass has been a welcome addition to the Derry midfield after returning from Australia and his midfield partner Emmet Bradley was up for it today kicking three classy scores from play.
Cavan fought back however, and closed the gap from seven points to a one point game in the last five minutes of the match. However, McGuigan extended the lead the to two points and the Oakleaf county managed to hold on and see out the remaining minutes of the game.
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