Donegal's Ciaran Diver on form but London lose out in Tailteann Cup
London lined up with Moville’s Diver, Sean Taylor from Ballyshannon and Newtowncunningham’s Daniel Clake, while Nathan McElwaine from Termon was a second-half substitute, with his clubmate Michael Boyle coaching the team.
Ciaran Diver scored four points for London in their Tailteann Cup defeat to London at the Newcastle West GAA Grounds on Saturday.
The Shannonsiders had 10 different scorers throughout the 70 minutes in their 0-25 to 1-15 success. London lined up with Moville’s Diver, Sean Taylor from Ballyshannon and Newtowncunningham’s Daniel Clake, while Nathan McElwaine from Termon was a second-half substitute, with his clubmate Michael Boyle coaching the team.
Darragh O'Hagan and Tommie Childs impressed in the middle third, while James Naughton and Emmet Rigter scored 0-8 between them for the victors.
Limerick looked to be in control when they led 0-14 to 0-5 on 28 minutes. During that period, Jimmy Lee's side produced some impressive attacking football. The hosts applied huge pressure on London goalkeeper Andrew Walsh's kick-out.
Emmet Rigter, Darragh O'Hagan, Danny Neville, Peter Nash and James Naughton all combined impressively scoring 0-12 between them in the opening 28 minutes. Rigter and Darragh O'Hagan landed one two-pointer each.
Clarke, Diver, Shay Rafter and Kristian Healy kept the exiles in touch during the first half. London then produced a strong finish to the first half, hitting 1-4 on the trot in the final seven minutes of the opening period. Ruairi Rafferty's goal gave London huge oxygen before the break.
After a strong start to the first half, Limerick were only 0-2 in front at the interval as they led 0-14 to 1-9 at the break.
Scores were at a premium in the opening exchanges of the second half. Both Limerick and London were guilty of some sloppy turnovers.
Substitute Barry Coleman made an instant impact, scoring a two-pointer on 44 minutes to push Limerick 0-16 to 1-9 ahead. London's Joshua Obahor replied to reduce the gap to three points.
In a tightly contested encounter, Peter Nash and Shay Rafter exchanged points.
Limerick then seized momentum with a series of scores from Mungret St Paul's Darragh O'Hagan, Iain Corbett, and Rory O'Brien, pushing the hosts into a commanding position. However, London mounted a spirited comeback, with Ciaran Diver and Rafter narrowing the gap.
In the closing stages, Josh Ryan and James Naughton added late points to secure a comfortable seven-point victory for Limerick.