No hype surrounding this London team, says Exiles boss Deely

February 05, 2018

London's Adrian Moyles in action vs Wicklow. Photo credit Sheila Fernandes

by Damian Dolan

London don't do 'hype' said London manager Ciaran Deely following his side's 1-16 to 0-10 victory over Wicklow.

The Exiles haven't enjoyed two wins in a single league campaign since 2011, but following Sunday's impressive display at McGovern Park they'll fancy their chances of ending that sequence this time around.

Deely insists, however, that they won't be getting carried away.

"We don't do excitement or hype," Deely told the Irish World. "We've a lot of work to do, there's a lot of aspects of our performance that weren't good enough at times, and the same from Carlow. We're still learning and improving.

"Do we want more wins? Of course we do. Can we get them? Yes, but it's going to be difficult.

"Teams like Limerick, Antrim and Laois have all been up in Division 2 and Division 3 in the last number of years, so they're still going to be looking at London as a game they must win, if they want to do anything in this league."

Deely hailed his side's maturity after their win against Wicklow. The Exiles led 1-10 to 0-5 at the break having had first use of the wind, and edged the second half by a point as they closed the game out.

Captain Liam Gavaghan finished with 1-7 (4f) while corner forwards Ryan Elliott and Fearghal McMahon both scored 0-3.

"Very happy with the first half, but even happier with the second half because it was a mature performance which has been coming from us for a while. We controlled the game quite well," said Deely.

"Anyone who saw that match today would say 'there's something about those lads out on that pitch'. Aside from their footballing ability, they're mature fellas and they were well able to take the ball on at the end and use it well, and close the game out."

While London had stand-out performers all over the pitch, Deely reserved special mention for debutant, and former Monaghan U21 star, McMahon.

"He's trained for the last few months with us, he's worked hard and he's a great young player. He didn't get a chance before now, and he's come in and scored three points," he said.

"Very mature in his play and that was the nicest thing to see. He's a lot of pedigree. He's a fine player."


Most Read Stories