Job done for Cavan but Gearóid McKiernan warned his side they must improve if they are to win the first ever Tailteann Cup.
The Breffni men got past Sligo by 0-20 to 1-14 at Croke Park in their semi-final, with man of the match McKiernan playing a key role in their win.
Sligo created several goal chances and will feel they blew a massive chance to make the decider, but ultimately Cavan's cuteness in front of the post swung an entertaining game their way.
Strong start by Cavan at Croke Park, Thomas Galligan scoring their third point. They lead Sligo by 0-05 to 0-00 after 12 minutes. #RTEGAA
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Mickey Graham's men are favourites to go all the way in the competition but McKiernan said they have to tune up ahead of the decider.
"It was a hard-fought win," he told RTÉ Sport.
"We've loads to work on. We know that performance won't be good enough to beat Westmeath [in the final]. We'll enjoy this win tonight, get back to training Tuesday and take the learnings from it.
"We knew coming here that Sligo would fight to the very end, and they showed that.
"Even though we got off to a good start we knew they'd battle away. We were lucky in the end they missed a few goal chances but in fairness, our bench and all the boys that came on...it was a great team performance to get us through."
Oisín Kiernan makes another vital clearance to deny Paddy O'Connor a second goal. Cavan lead Sligo by three points with less than 10 minutes remaining. #RTEGAA
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Reflecting on the competition itself, McKiernan said Cavan are desperate to lift the trophy. The 2020 Ulster SFC winners will be keen to ensure they are in the top-tier All-Ireland championship next year but for now their sights are firmly set on getting some silverware.
"After the Donegal game we regrouped and said we'd give this competition the respect it deserves," said McKiernan.
"You see the crowd here today, getting up to Croke Park for an All-Ireland semi-final...we put pressure on ourselves. We've our own performances we want to meet. We're delighted to come out the right end of the result today.
"Thankfully we're in the final and we will give it a good rattle hopefully. It's a great competition. You see what it means to the children, the people from Cavan and Sligo here. I'm a big fan of it."
