Hurlers offered a last chance for
survival
WESTMEATH 4-11
LONDON 2-10
 By Graham
Clifford and John fitzsimons
League tables so often lie. London finished bottom of the National Hurling
League Division 2b after being defeated by Westmeath at Mullingar but
left the field knowing lady luck had not just deserted them but fled to
another planet.
It wasn’t the first time this year that London deserved better however
manager Mick O’ Dea believes they can still stay in the division.
In a convoluted relegation play-off system London will face Roscommon
on the 23rd of April in Dublin. Meanwhile Kildare who finished second
last in Division 2b will face Wicklow who finished bottom of 2A. The losers
of both ties play off in a relegation dog-fight with the losing side in
that final game being relegated from their division.
London finished the league on the same points total as Mayo and Kildare
but had more scores conceded than the other two counties.
Had London picked up even a point against Westmeath last Sunday it would
have been sufficient to stay in Division 2b outright but now the side
will have to hope they can defeat Rosscommon and avoid a high pressure
showdown with Kildare or Wicklow in the coming weeks.
As with all of London’s games so far this year the side dominated
the first half leading by 2-08 to 2-05 at the break.
In the battle of the Nicky Rackard cup holders and the Christy Ring cup
holders London out-hurled the home side in the first 35 minutes with Fergus
Mcmahon at centre back a tower of strength for the Exiles.
In the opening half London dominated midfield and finished the half off
as they started with clinical scoring. Aided by a strong breeze London
through Jim Ryan and Sean Quinn raised green flags just before the break.
Westmeath had found the net twice in the opening half too through a small
element of skill and a massive portion of good fortune. A defensive lapse
led to Andrew Mitchell’s first goal while his second came completely
against the run of play.
Mick O’ Dea was confident at halftime that his side would hold on
to their three point lead but as happened in the games against Kildare
and Mayo the side faltered in the second half. Despite the Lake County
being reduced to 14 men nine minutes into the second half when Philip
Gilsenan saw red London were continuously on the back foot.
The away side added just two scores to their total in the second half.
To add insult to injury Westmeath’s third goal was as lucky as you’ll
see. A speculative effort from Westmeath’s Brendan Murtagh bounced
back off the upright for a waiting Daniel Carty to kick to the open net.
London Hurling manager Mick O’ Dea said afterwards “In a million
years Westmeath would never score those three goals again. We just couldn’t
believe our bad luck. No team can come back from something like that.
“I’m very disappointed obviously but I do have a strange sense
of happiness too. This side has improved steadily in every game. Yes we
need to improve further but I couldn’t question the lad’s
fire and determination throughout this league campaign. We’ve hurled
teams off the park this year in both home and away games but have never
had the rub of the green, that’s such an important factor in any
sport.”
Looking ahead to the play-off with Rosscommon O’ Dea said “
It’s great we have the chance to remain in the league and I’d
fancy our chances against Rosscommon. They’re a handy side but we
have to be confident. Rosscommon will probably view us in the same way
but all we can do is prepare well and give it our best shot.”
O’ Dea himself will miss the game as he’s in Florida at the
time. Also Mick O’ Meara will miss the clash though injury. Croke
Park has yet to confirm where in the capital the fixture will take place
but Malahide is the likely venue.
|
