By Michael McMullan

CONSISTENCY. Ever since Colm McFadden and Dermot Molloy notched late goals to sink Tyrone in the 2011 Ulster semi-final, Donegal have been epitome of consistency.

A first sight of the Anglo Celt Cup since Anthony Molloy hoisted it skywards was followed by another eight final appearances in a decade, winning four of them.

Add in a second visit of ‘Sam’ to the hills and Donegal’s record speaks for itself.

Cavan stand in their way of a tenth final in 12 seasons and nobody in Donegal will need any reminding of the last meeting of the counties.

Conor Madden’s late goal added the insurance on a November night that saw the Breffni Blues take a thoroughly deserved 39th title.

A hammering of Armagh added to the snowballing expectation levels that Declan Bonner’s men were the only side capable of laying a glove on the Dubs.

Did complacency infiltrate the camp? Possibly, but that would be harsh on Cavan. Whatever formula Mickey Graham had tucked in red book within his clutches worked the oracle. The u-21 winning teams had evolved in an experienced unit carried on a wave of emotion.

An extra-time win over Monaghan in Clones was followed by a second-half recovery of Lazarus proportions to sink Down.

But Donegal would have enough…at least that was the narrative and one backed up with Donegal winning the previous four meetings of the counties by an average margin of seven points.

When the teams advance from under the Gerry Arthurs Stand on Sunday, only four players will remain from Donegal’s 2-14 to 1-8 quarter-final win in 2011. Niall Murray and Gearóid McKiernan are still in the Cavan squad, with Paddy McBrearty and their spiritual leader Michael Murphy still tearing up trees on the inter-county stage.

The Cavan players who cried and cheered with equal measure in the aftermath of 2020 Ulster success were soon trudging down a darker path. First it was Division Three and then down the basement.

Clearly too good for football’s bottom rung, they stepped back up this year before comfortably seeing off Antrim in the Ulster Championship.

It was total dominance, both physically and territorially. With greater composure in front of goal, it should’ve been well out of the Saffrons’ reach by half time.

A plus point was the arrival of Patrick Lynch on the championship stage; a return to the starting grid for Conor Brady and Ciaran ‘Holla’ Brady from the bench. Throw in the experience of Martin O’Reilly and Mickey Graham would’ve had additional bite around training with Oisin Kiernan closer to consideration after being rated “50-50” for the Antrim game.

The following day they would’ve witnessed Donegal’s man mountains hunt down Ethan Rafferty’s kick-outs on a MacCumhaill Park which had the sidelines brought in.

The rookie Armagh stopper was faced by Michael Langan, Jason McGee, Ciaran Thompson, Hugh McFadden and Michael Murphy. And that’s before you factor Paul Brennan and Caolan McGonagle into the mix.

But Raymond Galligan is a different operator and he will need to be with Clones playing tighter than Ballybofey. It will make for an interesting angle to the game. It was Donegal’s aerial threat that shut Armagh out completely.

If Graham takes a punt on ‘Holla’ Brady, it would suit a running game, with Conor Moynagh – centre back for much the league – sitting as a sweeper. The threat of Jamie Brennan and Paddy McBrearty will deserve that level of respect and planning.

Conor Brady, a midfielder by trade, would be suited to Michael Langan and will need to tune into his movement for Shaun Patton’s devastating over the top kick-out. A similar effort from Niall Morgan almost created a goal for Conor Meyler.

It could leave a tough decision between Jason McLoughlin and Luke Fortune for a spot in the starting 15.

Declan Bonner will have his own decisions to make. Odhran McFadden-Ferry, a regular all season, is available again, but it’s hard to see who he could force out. Brendan McCole, Stephen McMenamin and Caolan Ward have been constants. If he feels McFadden-Ferry is needed to match up against McKiernan, it would prompt a change of shape that could see Shane O’Donnell miss out in the reshuffle.

The duel between McCole and Lynch will tell more about their rise in form this season. Cavan’s concern will come from how they cope with seeing less of the ball than they did against Antrim.

Two things are certain this weekend. Cavan are far from the Division Four level they found themselves at, nor will Donegal treat them as such. That night in November 2020 and the manner of how Cavan outplayed them will see to that.

VERDICT: DONEGAL