By Niall Gartland

AFTER the morale-lifter of an opening day win over Sligo, Cavan were brought back down to earth with a bump as they made the trip back home from London empty-ended last weekend.

The Breffni hurlers have been very significant strides in recent years, but the newly instated Division Three is a minefield and it was never going to be easy to snare two points against London in Ruislip.

And that’s how it panned out – they could have no complaints as they fell short on the day on a scoreline of 1-19 to 1-10.

They have a chance to make amends this Sunday away to Mayo, a fixture that had been due to take place on the opening weekend of the league but was scuppered due to the effects of Storm Éowyn.

So it’s very much take two and they’re the only Ulster side in action this weekend in the National Hurling League.

It’s another tricky one for Cavan. They played Mayo last year in the now-defunct Division 3B and while they gave it a rattle, they fell short on the day by 2-17 to 1-13.

It’s by no means beyond the realms of possibility that Ollie Bellew’s side upset the odds – they lost twice to Sligo last season before making it third time lucky with a win against the Yeatsmen a fortnight ago.

They lost by nine points to London, but by no means was it a one-sided contest – it was the proverbial game of two halves, Liam O’Brien’s goal helping Cavan into a six-point lead at the break before London assumed almost total control after the break, peppering the scoreboard and eventually pushing through for victory on the home straight.

Cavan were kept scoreless in the second half, so they’ll want to see a more consistent showing against Mayo on Sunday.

The Connacht side have only played one game to date – a narrow win over Sligo – so going by the fact Cavan also proved too strong for the very same team, this has the potential to be a close-fought encounter.