Sport

Antrim stay top of their tree with hard-fought victory in London

Antrim&rsquo;s Kevin Niblock has a shot at goal during Sunday&rsquo;s NFL Division Four clash with London at Ruislip &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;<br />Picture by Malcolm McNally&nbsp;
Antrim’s Kevin Niblock has a shot at goal during Sunday’s NFL Division Four clash with London at Ruislip            
Picture by Malcolm McNally 
Antrim’s Kevin Niblock has a shot at goal during Sunday’s NFL Division Four clash with London at Ruislip            
Picture by Malcolm McNally 

Division Four: London ..0-11 Antrim ...1-11

Antrim remain top of Division Four of the National Football League after a hard-fought win over London at the Irish TV Grounds in Ruislip yesterday.


Kevin O’Boyle’s fourth-minute goal cancelled out two early points from London duo Eoin Murray and Adrian Moyles, and it would prove to be the difference in the end.


London battled hard in a physical encounter, with James Moran and Mark Gottsche giving as good as they got in a fierce midfield battle with Sean McVeigh and Conor Murray.


Antrim took a one-point lead into the break, with Tomas McCann contributing three first half scores as the visitors led 1-5 to 0-7, but the Exiles emerged for the restart determined to reclaim the lead.


They achieved that aim within nine minutes as Lorcan Mulvey began to throw his weight around and find the target while he was at it, but London’s lack of discipline disrupted their flow and the Saffrons pounced.


Two London substitutes – Cormac Coyne and Adrian Hanlon – lasted a matter of minutes before receiving black cards, while key forward Adrian Moyles met the same fate.


The visitors soon punished London by upping their intensity and aggression, and James Laverty pulled the sides level for the third time in the match with a fisted effort on 53 minutes, before a brace of points from Conor Murray put Antrim in control.


The free-roaming O’Boyle added a point to his early goal to put the Saffrons three points in the clear, but Mulvey reduced the deficit to two by finishing off a fine team move from London.


Substitute Ryan Murray had registered a couple of wides after replacing the black-carded Patrick McBride, but he soon found his range with a delightful point from wide on the right, which would prove to be the final score of an enthralling encounter.


London scrambled the ball forward for a one last dash in search of a draw, but Dualtach Molloy’s 


goal-bound effort was easily saved by St Gall’s man Chris Kerr in the Antrim goal.


Saffrons boss Frank Fitzsimmons was pleased to come away from Ruislip with two points, although he was adamant the threat London possessed did not come as a shock.


“Coming over here is never easy, some of the boys were up at 4.30 in the morning to get flights – it’s an awkward place to come,” he said. 


“So I’m happy enough to come away from here with the two points.


“Fair play to London, they played very well, stuck to their guns and were very physical. But our lads dug in for the last 15 minutes and showed a bit more fitness and a bit more experience.”


With the likes of Ryan Murray and Martin Johnson making a solid impact off the bench, Fitzsimmons hailed the strength of his squad.


“This panel has been fantastic for us, it was our panel that won that game for us today, not the 15 starters,” said Fitzsimmons. 


“We have a very strong panel this year and have plenty of players who can come in and make a massive, massive difference.”


Next up for Antrim is the visit of Waterford, who were beaten by a point at home to Wexford on Saturday, and Fitzsimmons admits his side can take nothing for granted in Division Four.


“We’re not looking much further than our next game, it’s so tight it’s unbelievable,” he said.


“This is the toughest division I’ve seen. We came down here three years ago and, to be honest, some of our lads probably thought we’d come straight back up, but it’s very tough, competitive and physical.”

London: C Campbell; P Butler, C Dunne, 


D Quinn; D McGreevy, D Ryan, C Dunne; 


J Moran, M Gottsche; A Moyles (0-4, 0-3 frees), C Og Greene (0-1), L Gavaghan; 


S Hickey, E Murray (0-1), L Mulvey (0-5, 0-1 free)


Subs: D Molloy for E Murray (35, blood sub), D Moore for S Hickey (h-t), C Coyne on for D Quinn (45), A Hanlon for J Moran (52)


Yellow card: E Murray (35), L Mulvey (65)


Black cards: C Coyne (46, replaced by A Dunne), A Moyles (50, replaced by D Molloy), A Hanlon (59, replaced by E Mageean)

Antrim: C Kerr; K O’Boyle (1-1), C Burke, 


R Johnson; J Laverty (0-2), N Delargy, 


J Carron; S McVeigh, C Murray (0-2); 


M Fitzpatrick, T McCann (0-4, 0-3 frees), 


M McCann; P McBride (0-1), N McKeever, 


K Niblock


Substitutes: M Johnson on for C Burke (44), R Murray (0-1) for P McBride, M Sweeney for 


J Carron (51), D McAleese for S McVeigh (58), M Armstrong on for M McCann (70).


Yellow card: C Burke (41)


Black card: P McBride (45, replaced by 


R Murray)

Referee: James Bermingham (Cork)