OF THE TWO teams, Cavan would have been the happier side leaving the Clones dressing rooms on Sunday evening.
Cian Mackey’s equaliser at the end of extra-time sent the Ulster SFC semi-final to a replay, as Armagh watched another lead slip in the closing stages.
Kieran McGeeney’s men needed extra-time to see-off Down in the quarter-final despite going five points up against their 14-men during the second-half.
Then they let Cavan claw back a three-point lead near the end of normal time before Mackey’s late intervention in extra-time forced another day out.
“There’s a bit of relief that we’re still in it,” says Cavan forward Martin Reilly, who was named PwC GAA/GPA Players of the Month for May,
“We were a man down, four points down with ten minutes to go. To come back and to get the draw was great, and to be still in the Ulster championship is brilliant.
“We’re looking to improve on last Sunday’s performance and hopefully come out on the right side of the result this time.”
Mickey Graham’s team are bidding to reach their first provincial final since 2001, with all eight of the other Ulster counties having reached the decider on at least one occasion since then.
Graham is no stranger to upsetting the odds, having led Longford champions Mullinalaghta to Leinster club glory last December.
“He’s very positive and he speaks very well,” says Reilly of his manager. “He’s one of these managers that when he speaks, you listen.
“I think we’re starting to make progress under Mickey. We’re trying hard and we’re hoping now we can get the win on Sunday and reach an Ulster final.
“That would be huge for us if we could get over this Sunday, which won’t be easy. That’s a big step for us in our progress and hopes for the future.
“Throughout the league we’ve progressed and had some very good performances and we’ve shown good character in games.
“Going behind Sunday and being a man down, we showed good character to keep going and it would have been easy to throw in towel and say ‘it’s not our day’. But we didn’t do that.
“We stuck to our guns, kept going and kept plugging away. The scores came and we got the draw. We nearly could have gotten the win. Maybe it was a fair result at the end of the day.”
The Killygarry club man has been a central figure in the Cavan attack this summer and at 32-years-old is enjoying some of his best form in the county jersey.
“Last year I was playing deeper. I’ve been playing a bit closer to our scoring goals. Maybe that has suited me a bit more this year. I’m enjoying my football and enjoying that role now.
“We’re trying to move the ball at pace and trying to find gaps and trying to get room for lads in front of goals to get the scores.”
A talented soccer player in his youth, he represented Ireland at U18 level and played alongside Darron Gibson and Anthony Stokes in that side. After impressing for Dublin side Home Farm, he spent two years on the books of Burnley before returning home at 19.
“It was a good experience to get a taste of what being a full-time professional athlete was like. You realise how tough it is and the work that has to go in to be successful.
“I found it tough to be honest. You’re going over there very young and you’re leaving your family and friends. If you knew then what you know now and have the experience things possibly could be different.
“But it’s tough for someone so young going over there. Some people take to it better than others.
“I think it definitely would have helped me over the years and stood to me, that experience. When I was a young lad I would have been just playing football, football, football – that was it.
“I realised the commitment that was needed to be successful, that stuck with me over the years. I tried to give that commitment and look after myself.”
Reilly has no regrets about turning his back on a potential career in soccer.
“No, not at all. I’m very happy with where I am and with the way things are now. You might think ‘what if’ the odd time but I’m very happy with the way things have turned out for me.
“I actually played with Longford for a couple of weeks (after my return) but I decided I was going to do an apprenticeship and I didn’t really want to go back to school.
“I suppose my friends and (the GAA) club wanted me to play with them. I just had to make a decision. I couldn’t do everything and that was my decision in the end.”
Cavan and Armagh’s rematch takes place on Sunday afternoon at St Tiernach’s Park and Reilly’s sights are firmly set on reaching the provincial final for the first time in his career.
“You could imagine if we got to an Ulster final, the county would be mad,” he concluded.
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