Cavanagh Coming Good But Still Has More To Offer

Monday 01.08.2011

Club

It has been said several times before that Croke Park is the venue where Sean Cavanagh plays his best football and perhaps that is true. His display on Saturday against Roscommon was very good from an attacking point of view with a personal return of 2-3 but I am sure Sean would be honest enough to say that there were areas of his performance he could improve on. It is also worth pointing out that in the two qualifier games against Longford and Armagh he probably got through more work and played a much more combative role than he did last weekend. However, as most defenders know, it is the guy who gets the scores that gets the plaudits and while I would not argue with the big lad’s man of the match award, I would say he has worked harder in other games this year but did not get the recognition his efforts deserved.

His passing can be wayward at times and he often shoots when there are players better placed. Ask Marty Swift about the pass he gave him last Saturday night when Kevin Hughes was better placed, and better built, to receive the ball. From a defensive point of view I have been very impressed with his willingness to tackle back from the middle of the field this year and nowhere was this more in evidence than against Armagh. However perhaps the local derby element and the fact that he knows so many of their players so well had something to do with his willingness to work hard and tackle like a demon during that game. He did not display quite the same work ethic against Roscommon, particularly in the first half although this improved after the break.

Croke Park is a big pitch where mistakes and space can be exploited therefore a player of his importance and quality must realise the consequences of unforced errors. If Sean Cavanagh can reproduce his scoring form of last Saturday and merge it with the defensive application of the Armagh game, Dublin will find him very hard to contain and as such Tyrone could be in with a great chance of making the semi finals.