By Niall Gartland

YOU’D be forgiven for thinking he’s too young, but Cavan skipper Niall Carolan actually has vivid memories of their winning streak of four successive Ulster u-21 titles between 2011 and 2014.

His uncle, former Breffni star Ronan Carolan, was selector and physio throughout that run, so Niall was granted certain privileges beyond that of the average Cavan youngster of that era.

“I was able to get into dressing rooms when they were winning so I actually do remember a fair bit about those days, they had a great team,” he said..

Now he’s all grown up and he’s skippering a Cavan side that have defied expectations merely by reaching this year’s Ulster final. He’s a crucial part of the defensive unit that limited a respected Derry side to only nine points in the semi-final, and while they’re rank underdogs against Tyrone, he says that belief has never been an issue within the camp itself.

“We had the belief that we could get the results, and that if we played to our potential we wouldn’t be far away.

“Monaghan in the first round was our first big target, it’s a local derby obviously and it was great to get the win. Then we knew Derry would be a top-class side as that team won the All-Ireland at minor level, so that was another big win for us and it’s exciting to be in the final.”

Carolan says manager Damian Donohoe and the rest of his backroom team deserve special mention for guiding Cavan to their first provincial final at this level since 2014. The knives were out after a disappointing defeat to Down last year, but Donohoe didn’t give up the ghost and they’re now getting their just rewards after months of intense training.

“Damian has put in a huge amount of work. I was involved with him last year as well, and there was a good bit of regret leaving the field after that result so we just wanted to put things right this year. The whole backroom team have put in a huge amount of work so it’s great that we have the opportunity to put on the jersey and hopefully do it for them.”

Tyrone will be favourites to take the spoils this weekend, but that suits Cavan just fine, says Carolan.

“Maybe teams have underestimated us, but we’ve just been focused on ourselves and following the game-plan. Hopefully we can put in a performance worthy of winning.”