SUNDAY FOCUS: Cavan v Donegal, Breffni Park, 2.40 - Seán Moran on an Ulster clash where Mattie Kerrigan's side go seeking redemption.

"It was," Matt Kerrigan, "not so much the losing of the league final that disappointed us but that we didn't perform to our capabilities." Cavan's annihilation by Tyrone two weeks ago has given the county's manager a stiff challenge in advance of tomorrow's Bank of Ireland Ulster championship opener against Donegal.

From a position of promise to one of doubt and knocked confidence, the change is unhelpful facing into a big match. Donegal know better than anyone, however, that such transformations are possible. Seven years ago they went in the space of a week from losing a league final comprehensively to Derry to beating then All-Ireland champions Down at the first time of asking.

Kerrigan isn't downbeat about events in Clones two weeks ago and points out that it has lent an air of reality to the county's preparations.

"I said from the start that people might have to be patient. This is a very young team. Players like Dermot McCabe and Peter Reilly are still only 26 although they have been around for a long time. We started the year with the target of staying in the first division and ended up qualifying for the final.

"There were a couple of reasons things didn't go well. We have five or six new players who didn't play as well as they are capable of playing. As a team we wouldn't be great lovers of wind and rain and would do better on a dry day. But I'd have to say that Tyrone were very good and you can't overlook that as a factor in us doing badly."

From the start the defence was under pressure. Teenage corner back Eamonn Reilly started on Peter Canavan and was in trouble immediately. An early switch with wing back Michael Brides (a Leinster schools rugby medallist with Clongowes) improved matters but Canavan was in unstoppable form.

"Young lads are resilient," says Kerrigan, "and it was valuable experience. I've always said to them not to be worrying, that I'm not going to be whipping them off any time they only have a middling game."

Both Reilly and Brides are in the thick of exams at the moment so tomorrow's test will have the advantage of adding some variety to their academic routine. Donegal will exert pressure with Adrian Sweeney and Brendan Devenney in fine form on the full-forward line.

The match will also be a clash of styles. Donegal play their familiar possession game whereas Cavan under Kerrigan have been trying to play a more mixed game. This hasn't been without difficulty particularly when a result goes badly.

"Yes, there was a lot of criticism about what the style in the league final," he says. "But I think it's important to understand that I'm not looking for long ball for the sake of it, it's good long ball that plays to our strengths in attack."

Those strengths include the pace and finishing ability that marked the NFL semi-final destruction of Roscommon - a big win that Kerrigan feels maybe "set us up a bit" going in to the final.

Donegal will be a different challenge. They had a low-key league but did manage to defeat Tyrone although they also lost to Roscommon, which makes drawing a formline through the NFL a fruitless task.

If there is an area where Cavan might hope to impact it will be around centrefield. The pairing of Pierce McKenna and Cathal Collins is a new one and was subdued by Tyrone but they have the physical presence in the sector that can make it hard on Donegal's natural game.

Should that be disrupted, Cavan will have a chance to play to their own strengths. Only tomorrow will tell the extent to which they have recovered from the league final. Not even Kerrigan pretends to know the answer to that.

They have every chance of bouncing back but at this relatively early stage of team development and missing so vital an influence as Dermot McCabe, who is only recently back in training, Cavan face an uphill task.

CAVAN: A Donohoe; E Reilly, T Prior, C Hannon; M Brides, A Forde, J Doonan; P McKenna, C Collins; AN Other, P Reilly, AN Other; L Reilly, J Reilly, P Galligan.

DONEGAL: T Blake; S Carr, M Crossan, N McGinley; R Sweeney, B Monaghan, K Cassidy; J Gildea, P McGonigle; J Harron, M Hegarty, J McGuinness; A Sweeney, B Devenney, B Roper.