Allianz Football League Division Four

LEITRIM 1-9 LONDON 0-7

By Cian O'Connell at Avantcard Pairc Sean MacDiarmada

Ultimately it was mission accomplished for Leitrim in Carrick-on-Shannon. Division Three status has been attained, while an appearance at Croke Park against Derry also beckons at the end of the month.

A fifth successive victory under Terry Hyland’s stewardship was registered in difficult conditions in the west and that left the locals heartened following a tight and tense tussle.

On another afternoon Leitrim’s errant shooting – 1-9 from 27 attempts - could have proved costly, but Hyland’s charges did enough to secure the spoils to maintain the feel good factor in the county.

With a significant and expectant crowd braving the elements Leitrim were understandably edgy initially as London settled smartly.

Ciaran Deely’s resourceful and resilient outfit mined a couple of points courtesy of Conor Doran and Liam Gavaghan frees, while at the opposite end Leitrim were struggling to convert opportunities.

How London continue to integrate homegrown talent is worthy of the utmost respect and they have been admirably competitive throughout the spring despite a high turnover of players.

Leitrim failed to land any of their first six scoring attempts, but they eventually registered a score when Shane Quinn gathered a Pierce Dolan pass before clipping a 23rd minute goal.

That major was critical for the home team, who subsequently added points from Ryan O’Rourke (two) and Gary Plunkett.

When the interval rolled around Leitrim led by 1-4 to 0-4, but the fact that they squandered so many opportunities was a worry.

In the opening period Leitrim unleashed 13 shots which only yielded 1-4 so the locals knew that improvement was necessary when the action recommenced.

It followed a similar pattern after the restart as Leitrim only landed two from their first eight efforts with Domhnaill Flynn and Aidan Flynn raising white flags.

Gavaghan terminated a 22 minute search for a London score to ensure the visitors remained very much in the reckoning.

Under duress Gary Plunkett and Ray Mulvey rifled over important late points for Leitrim, who gleefully celebrated referee Liam Devenney’s final whistle.

Scorers for Leitrim: Shane Quinn 1-0, Gary Plunkett, Ray Mulvey, and Ryan O’Rourke (1f) 0-2 each, Aidan Flynn, Evan Sweeney, and Domhnaill Flynn (f) 0-1 each.

Scorers for London: Liam Gavaghan 0-4 (3fs), Pierce McGirr, Fearghal McMahon, and Conor Doran (f) 0-1 each.

LEITRIM: Diarmuid McKiernan; Micheal McWeeney, Paddy Maguire, Aidan Flynn; Shane Quinn, Mark Plunkett, Ray Mulvey; Dean McGovern, Shane Moran; Sean McWeeney, Domhnaill Flynn, Gary Plunkett; Ryan O’Rourke, Evan Sweeney, Pierce Dolan.

Subs: Darragh Rooney for Sweeney (HT), Damien Moran for Dolan (53), Eoin Ward for D Flynn (67), Emlyn Mulligan for O’Rourke (68), Cillian McGloin for Moran (70+3).

LONDON: Daniel McDonagh; Matthew Moynihan, Conor O’Neill, Philip Butler; David Dunne, David Carrabine, Ryan Jones; Michael Clarke, Mark Gottsche; Pierce McGirr, Liam Gavaghan, Aidan McGarvey; Conor Doran, James Hynes, Barry Tully.

Subs: Fearghal McMahon for McGarvey (48), Liam Gallagher for Doran (48), Sean Hickey for Hynes (54), Niall Coffey for McGirr (60), John Winters for Jones (68).

REFEREE: Liam Devenney (Mayo).