Cavan claimed a deserved win after upping their game in the second half and outgunning Leitrim in rugged contest in Carrick-on-Shannon, where only a point separated the sides at the interval. With a tricky wind and intermittent showers, playing conditions were difficult for both sides.
Leitrim opened brightly with Keith Beirne edging them ahead with points from a free and play by the sixth minute. In response Cavan got the score board ticking over when Paddy Lynch tapped over a free three minutes later. Another placed ball was sent over by free-taking goalkeeper, Raymond Galligan to put the Breifne Blues on level terms.
Cavan took the lead for the first time when Lynch shot his side's first point from play on the 18-minute mark. After this Cavan dominated the exchanges for the remainder of the game. Some ten minutes later they stretched their lead further when Galligan converted another free.
A Darragh Rooney point point in the following minute kept Leitrim in the hunt. But Cavan continued to control the play thanks to winning the man-to-man exchanges and increased their advantage further with two more Galligan free conversions by the thirty-fourth minute.
Leitrim finished with a late first-half flourish and reduced the deficit to the minimum at the break (0-06 to 0-05) thanks to a Beirne free conversion and point whipped over by Darragh Rooney.
After the restart Cavan went further ahead when full-forward Lynch fired over a thirty fifth minute point. Leitrim hit back during a purple patch with points from Beirne (free) and Dean McGovern to level matters some three minutes later.
Following this Cavan found another gear and had a four point lead by the fifty-sixth minute minute with Galligan (free), Conor Smith, Cormac O'Reilly
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