Kerry await Cavan as London bow out

Cavan 1-17 London 1-08: Cavan are through to their first ever All-Ireland senior football quarter-final after beating London in Croke Park, and none other than Kerry await them.

Against all expectations, the first-half was evenly matched and London were ahead 1-5 to 0-7 thanks to a goal after 20 minutes from Paul Geraghty. However the Exiles only managed 0-2 in the second-half as Cavan, making their first championship appearance in Croke Park since 1997, took control.

Cavan were expected to steamroll their opponents and it looked a certainty when they led 0-6 to 0-1 after 15 minutes. However, London outscored them by 1-4 to 0-1 in the next 16 minutes.

They grew in confidence after the goal from ex-Galway star Paul Geraghty, who beat Rory Dunne in the air to Shane Mulligan’s ball across in front of the Hill and found the net. Ciaran McCallion scored two points in a row from acute angles and Geraghty, who moved from midfield to full-forward, scored a superb point on the turn over his right shoulder to put London ahead 1-5 to 0-7.

Cavan were rocking but midfielder Tomás Corr stopped the rot with two points from play before Mulvey tagged on another free to bring London level 1-6 to 0-9 at the break.

Neither side wanted to commit too many bodies forward and the second half was a cagey affair. Cian Mackey broke the scoring drought to nudge Cavan ahead seven minutes after the restart.

Gradually, Cavan asserted a bit of dominance. Their patient build-up play was often rewarded as they picked off some nice scores with David Givney scoring three from play in the second-half. Eugene Keating missed an open goal chance but

Cavan finished them off when sub Niall McDermott tapped the ball into an empty net following unselfish play from Cian Mackey.

Next up, a very different prospect for the Ulstermen; a meeting with the Kingdom in the last eight.

Cavan: A O'Mara; J McEnroe, R Dunne, K Clarke; D O'Reilly, A Clarke, R Flanagan; T Corr (0-2), D Givney (0-3); C Mackey (0-1), J Brady, F Flanagan (0-2); M Reilly (0-1), M Dunne (0-6, 4f), E Keating (0-2, 1f)

Substitutions: D McVitty for McEnroe (47), J McLoughlin for Corr (58), N McDermott (1-0) for J Brady (61), K Brady for F Flanagan (66), M McKeever for Mackey (69)

London: D Traynor; P Butler, S Curran, D McGreevy; S Hannon, A Gaughan C Og Greene; C Doyle (0-1), P Geraghty (1-1); S Mulligan, D Dunleavey, C McCallion (0-2); G Crowley, L Mulvey (0-3, 3f), C Magee (0-1)

Substitutions: D O'Neill for Hannon (42), S Kelly for McCallion (43), C Daly for Crowley (47), B Collins for Butler (50), E O'Neill for Doyle (59)

Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)