Work-rate was ultimately rewarded in full to the delight of the Cavan supporters at Breffni Park yesterday.
As Liam Austin's men were facing the probability of relinquishing their Ulster crown at the first hurdle his team unleashed an exhilarating second-half display culminating in a barnstorming finish that left ambitious Fermanagh reeling and badly frustrated.
Fermanagh made the home side walk the tight rope throughout a scramble of a match in which there was little scope for frills. Cavan struggled throughout the first half and Austin freely admitted that his team was lucky to be only a point behind at half-time, 0-7 to 0-6.
It had been a chastening first half for the champions as Fermanagh threatened to tear the ponderous Cavan defence to shreds. A timely advance by Cavan goalkeeper Paul O'Dowd when he seemed vulnerable to the whole Fermanagh front line somehow denied the challengers of a goal in the second quarter.
Cavan had a `goal' disallowed, but it was clearly the right decision as Mark Leddy was in the small parallelogram.
In midfield, Cavan's Dermot McCabe and championship debutant Pierce McKenna were struggling to gain some sort of control. They were living of less than scraps and could have gained no confidence from their defenders.
The alarm bells rang again for the home defence when quicksilver Fermanagh corner-forward Shane King had a snap shot at the Cavan posts only for the ball to rebound off the butt of the far upright.
The Fermanagh full-forward line, full of pace and ideas, seriously threatened at every turn, with the Gallagher cousins, Rory and Raymond, proving difficult to mark.
Ironically, it was Rory Gallagher who made the mistake with a close free during the closing stages of the game that may well have cost his team the match.
Fermanagh were leading, with three points to spare, 0-10 to 0-7,
inside the last nine minutes when he muffed the simplest of frees for what should have been the insurance point. "I thought I struck it well but it tailed off to the left," he said ruefully. "It was the biggest disappointment of my career."
Cavan supporters waited patiently for improvement from Dermot McCabe. It was significant that when the Gowna man began to gain possession in the second half, the general team effort took off like a rocket.
Cavan's resolve was never in doubt from the first moments of the second half. Austin had demanded a higher work-rate from them at half-time. "You will win nothing without working hard for it," he reportedly said.
The Fermanagh defence were instantly put on the back foot, but reacted bravely to deny Cavan the equalising point.
Cavan's problems up front were emphasised by the fact that repeated waves of attacks, which saw Ronan Carolan do effective work, failed to yield that elusive equaliser.
Fermanagh, working off less possession, stretched their lead to three points by the end of the third quarter.
There was a strong feeling that Cavan's determination simply had to be rewarded. Jason Reilly saw a fine shot saved by Cormac McAdam and cleared off the line by Raymond Johnson. The scores were not materialising for Cavan but the pressure was mounting on the Fermanagh defence.
Fergus Reilly was sprung off the bench and did some great work to consolidate Cavan's midfield improvement.
From the 27th minute of the second half Cavan contrived an impressive winning performance. McCabe, with a 45-yard drive, ignited a six-point purple patch. The lone Fermanagh reply was a point from Ray Gallagher.
A brilliant point on the 70minute mark by Michael Graham gave Cavan the lead and further highlighted the invaluable contribution by the Cavan substitutes. Graham replaced Cathal Collins in the last quarter and took the foot pass from his team captain Bernard Morris before careering down the left and knocking over the winner. Earlier Gavin Harten's introduction for Paul Murphy saw improvement in the Cavan defence.
Fermanagh can feel unlucky in defeat and they will hardly find any comfort in the fact that they were beaten in the end by a Cavan team that finished in rare style.
