| Clare win but Chris shines
 By
Ian Graham
When London manager Noel Dunning looked at the fixture list at the start of
the season the away game to Páidí Ó Sé’s
Clare must have been one he was looking forward to.
Ultimately a poor start cost London but for Chris Donnellan it was a game
the Galway man will never forget. He bagged a brace of second-half goals
to add to the one he scored against Monaghan a week earlier at Ruislip
as his return to full fitness gathers pace.
The Exiles dominated the opening quarter of the match but as in the game
against Monaghan they failed to convert their chances scoring just one
point in this period.
Clare were impressive in the full-forward line and they capitalised on
two defensive errors from London to score goals at crucial stages.
The useful Michael O’Shea and Enda Coughlan finished well from close
range. Those efforts coupled with points from the likes of Ray Donnelly
gave them a 2-9 to 0-2 lead at the interval most of those scores coming
in a flurry in the final 10 minutes of the first-half.
That was harsh on the London lads who matched Clare in the general play
and they rallied somewhat in the second half.
Substitute Donnellan made no mistake when presented with his two goal-scoring
opportunities. Both came after flowing passing moves to add a measure
of respectability to London’s tally.
Points from the useful David Byrnes and Francie Cleary reduced London’s
arrears further as Noel Dunning’s men enjoyed the better of the
second-half play.
The Exiles actually drew with Clare on the scoreboard in the second-half
adding to the Exile’s frustration at having conceded two soft goals
in the first half.
The move of Senan Hehir to midfield added a bit of bite to London’s
efforts in the second-half while Paul O’Donoghue and Francie Cleary
also impressed going forward. At full-back Conor Beirne produced arguably
the best performance of his inter-county career to date.
Exiles manager Noel Dunning said he was disappointed with the result but
remained in a positive frame of mind.
He said: “We made Clare look better than they are I suppose, and
a lot of errors from the week before repeated themselves. On the plus
side we scored quite a bit from play, got two nice goals and worked very
hard throughout.”
Dunning also maintained that London were “ahead of schedule”
this season.
He said: “I have always maintained that the League is a way of working
towards the Championship for London and we are further ahead this year
than in previous seasons. There are many things which we can improve on
but the bunch of players we have all want to be involved and work hard
to achieve things for London GAA.”
The Exiles face Leitrim next week, and then Carlow in their final game.
If they can become a bit more clinical in front of the posts and up their
concentration in defence then there is no reason why the Boys in Green
can’t claim at least something from those games. |
