Tailteann Cup Group 4, round two
London 0-10 Down 1-24
A SOLID shooting display, led by Pat Havern, Daniel Guinness and Miceal Rooney, saw Down leave London with a comfortable win on Saturday.
Both teams had recorded big wins in their opening games last week, the Exiles stunning Offaly in Tullamore and all the pressure was on the visitors, who are favourites for the competition. But six points each from Havern and Guinness and five from Rooney put paid to any hopes of an upset.
“It was tough on my mum and dad. I knew I was self-destructing. And I also knew the next phase of that, if I had carried on, it was not being here. I was in a very dark place...” - the life and times of Caolan Mooney
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The home side started the brighter and were ahead in the third minute thanks to a Ciaran Diver score.
Down manager Conor Laverty saw his side respond in the way he would have hoped, Guinness scoring the first of his half-dozen.
Shay Rafter quickly put London back in front but the Mournemen then found their shooting boots to reel off the next four scores, with Havern scoring from a free and from play, and Guinness and Rooney also splitting the posts
Diver and Ruari Rafferty reduced that lead to one, but Havern, Danny Magill and Gareth McKibben responded before Diver provided the final score of the half to leave Down 0-8 to 0-5 up at the turnaround.
Down produced a strong third-quarter to seal the match with Havern, Guinness, and Ryan Magill keeping the scoreboard ticking over before Odhran Murdock dispatched a penalty to put them 11 clear.
The home side could only register five further scores in the second half, three of them from the London-born trio of Rafter, Josh Obahor, and substitute Tighe Barry.
Guinness, Murdock, Rooney and substitute Conor McCrickard all got on the scoresheet again as Down eased home in the end.
London A Walsh; E Walsh, C Healy, C McKeon; O Kerr, L Gallagher, A McLoughlin; M Carroll, J Obahor (0-1); S Dornan, D Clarke, C Diver (0-5, 0-3f); R Rafferty (0-1), S Rafter (0-2 frees), F Eastwood
Subs N McElwaine for F Eastwood (12′), DJ O’Flaherty for Michael Carroll (22′), J McGill for D Clarke (52′), T Barry (0-1) for L Gallagher (59′), M Miller for A McLoughlin (59′)
Down J O’Hare; P Fegan, R McEvoy (0-1), P McCarthy; R Magill (0-1), P Laverty, S Johnston; D Guinness (0-6), O Murdock (1-1); M Rooney (0-5), S Annett, J McGovern; J Guinness, P Havern (0-6, 0-3 frees), G McKibben (0-1)
Subs D Magill (0-2) for S Anett (30′), O Savage for G McKibben (H/T), E Brown for J Guinness (53′), C McCrickard (0-1) for S Johnston (55′), J Flynn for P Havern (64′)
Referee B Tiernan (Dublin)
