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Leitrim withstand London rally to extend winning start

Donal Wrynn scored Leitrim's second goal
Donal Wrynn scored Leitrim's second goal

Leitrim made it two wins from two as they overcame a spirited London in Ruislip.

Leitrim hit the front foot early and took the lead with their first attack of the game thanks to Evan Sweeney.

The game would be a back-and-forth affair in the opening minutes and Leitrim doubled their lead just before the ten-minute mark thanks to a point from Keith Beirne.

The visitors to the English capital would have a lead of four when Sweeney got his second point of the day from a mark before Jack Heslin pointed from play.

London were on the scoresheet in the 18th minute thanks to their captain Liam Gavaghan splitting the posts with a free.

Beirne hit back with a free of his own but London were slowly creeping back into the game and they scored two points in succession to reduce the gap between the teams to two points. Chris Duggan made no mistake after claiming a mark before Gavaghan scored his second free of the afternoon.

Keith Beirne top-scored for Leitrim with 1-07

Just as London were building momentum, Michael Clarke was black-carded as the first half drew to a close and Beirne pushed the lead back to three, which was the difference at the break as Leitrim led 0-06 to 0-03.

In the second half, London were back within one point of Leitrim thanks to two pointed frees in a row by Chris Farley.

Unfortunately for London, whenever they got within touching distance of their opponents, Leitrim extended their lead.

Jordan Reynolds and another Beirne free extended the Leitrim lead before Beirne found the net to put daylight between the two sides.

Chris Farley and substitute James Gallagher reduced the deficit but the hard work London were putting in was undone again.

Beirne added another point and some excellent work from Tom Prior split the London defence and allowed Donal Wrynn to put the ball in the net.

This London side never gives up and they racked up five points without reply. Scores from Gavaghan, Farley and substitute Kevin McCarthy made it a three-point game.

However, during the London resurgence, they lost substitute Henry Walsh to a red card as the home side had to work a little harder for the remainder of the match.

With five minutes to go, Daniel Clarke managed to poke the ball home after a goal-mouth scramble to send the home fans wild as London drew level for the first time.

But just like that, Leitrim were back in front thanks to Prior capitalising on a lack of concentration from the London defence for their third goal of the afternoon.

Late points from Gavaghan and Gallagher kept London pushing during the lengthy seven minutes of injury-time but a further two points from Beirne and a red card to London's Michael Clarke put the game to bed as Leitrim recorded back-to-back wins.

London: Kevin Mullan; Cahir Healy, Eoin Walsh, Nathan McElwaine, Daniel Clarke (1-00), Michael Clarke, Aidan McLoughlin, Liam Gallagher, Matthew Walsh, Niall O’Leary, Enda Lynn, Chris Duggan (0-01m), Stephen Dornan, Liam Gavaghan (0-04, 3f), Chris Farley (0-06, 5f, 1 '45).

Subs: Henry Walsh for Duggan (37), James Gallagher (0-02) for O’Leary (43), Conal Gallagher for Dornan (43), Stephen Dornan for Healy (49), Kevin McCarthy (0-02) for Enda Lynn (52).

Leitrim: Darren Maxwell; Adam Reynolds, Mark Diffle, Conor Reynolds, Conor Farrell, Shane Quinn, Riordan O’Rourke, Pearce Dolan, Donal Wrynn (1-00), Darragh Rooney, Jack Heslin (0-01), Paul Keaney, Evan Sweeney (0-02, 1m), Keith Beirne (1-07, 3f), Jordan Reynolds (0-02).

Subs: Paddy Maguire for Conor Reynolds (ht), Tom Prior (1-00) for Evan Sweeney (47), Mark Plunkett for Jack Heslin (61), Domhnaill Flynn for Darragh Rooney (66), James Rooney for Conor Farrell (70).

Referee: Jonathan Hayes (Limerick).

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