Form goes 'out the window' when Cavan face Monaghan

If Armagh's extra-time win over rivals Tyrone in the opening round of the Ulster Championship provided a lesson, it's that a derby can take a life of its own and Cavan coach Diarmuid Scullion notes the same has applied when the Breffni men have met Monaghan in the past.

The south Ulster neighbours meet at Clones on Sunday at the quarter-final stage [15:00 BST, live on BBC 2 NI, BBC iPlayer & BBC Sport NI website] with the winner going on to meet either Derry or Antrim in the last four.

While Armagh were red-hot favourites to account for Tyrone last weekend, they just about squeezed through as the Red Hands brought a ferocity that had been absent throughout the league.

Monaghan have been installed as favourites to advance this week, but that was the case when they sides met at the same venue two years ago, only for Cavan to stun the Farney men with the help of three second half goals.

While Scullion accepts his team will "have to be at our best if we want to get anything out of the game" this week, there is also an acknowledgement that when rivals collide, anything can happen.

"The last few championship games between Cavan and Monaghan, form has gone out the window," said Scullion.

"We have a number of players in our team who relish these big experiences, and that's something we'll have to draw on.

"But I'm very aware of how good Monaghan are as well. You can't underestimate the role of someone like Rory Beggan in the new game - the importance of a goalkeeper, kick-outs, and his ability to kick two-point frees.

"They certainly have a lot of good players there that we'll have to do our homework on."

A native of Derry, Scullion has called Scotstown in County Monaghan home for the past decade and linked up with current Cavan boss Dermot McCabe in Westmeath last year before following the former Breffni player back to his home county.

In the league, Cavan managed to stay in Division Two and while they won just two of their seven games, there were some near misses against Cork and Meath who won promotion.

That campaign provided "some positives" and one of those was the availability of Paddy Lynch for the majority.

Lynch, who top-scored in the preliminary round victory over Monaghan two years ago, suffered a cruciate injury following their extra-time defeat by Tyrone at the quarter-final stage, sidelining him until last summer when he kicked a point in Cavan's All-Ireland group stage win over Mayo.

The Crosserlough man's ability was highlighted in the league win over Kildare that ultimately kept Cavan in Division Two and he will be central to Breffni hopes on Sunday at St Tiernach's Park.

"Under the old rules, Paddy was a massive scorer, so we're working with him to get back to that kind of form," Scullion added.

"Coming back from a cruciate injury is difficult - it's a season-long injury. Paddy has had a few niggles that have come about from pushing himself to get back to full fitness, and that's affected him at different stages throughout the league.

"But against Kildare, he came in and kicked nine points - he had a massive performance to get us over the line.

"We know that if we're going to challenge Monaghan, we need the best from Paddy. He is one of the players when you get the ball into his hands, he knows where the scoreboard is."