There were mixed emotions in the London dressing-room
Reaction
Mike Finnerty
AS the London players walked off the field and down the narrow corridor of crash barriers towards their dressing-room, the large crowd that had gathered either side spontaneously burst into applause.
There were friends and family, gracious Mayo supporters and members of the London GAA fraternity making themselves heard and showing their appreciation.
London may have lost the game but there was no denying that they won plenty of admirers.
“It was a great feeling,” conceded Geesala native John Scanlon, who operated for much of the day at centre-forward for the Exiles.
“They knew we had put in a good effort and they were proud of us. They haven’t seen that over here for a while.”
“We have mixed emotions really,” admitted Noel Tuohy from Ballaghaderreen, who came off the bench during the second half.
“With five minutes to go, Killian Phair kicked a point off his left foot to put us two clear. We thought that was it. Barry Comer came up and kicked two points, one off his left and one off his right, and when things like that go for you, you think ‘this could be our day’.
“Unfortunately, it wasn’t to be but the lads are all proud of each other. We put in a good effort over the ninety minutes.”
London manager Paul Coggins pointed out afterwards that he had concentrated on his own team’s strengths rather than Mayo’s weaknesses in the build-up to the game.
Noel Tuohy agreed that their strategy to deal with their guests was pretty straightforward.
“Put them under pressure,” he said matter-of-factly. “Mayo often found themselves coming up short when it was put up to them, especially kicking from play. .
“There’s frailities there, like every team. It’s just a matter of how you exploit them.
“Our lads got off on the right foot from the start. They had them under the cosh, put them on the backfoot, and got them thinking. But a few big players, like Andy Moran and Alan Dillon, stood up when they were needed.”
“We put in a great effort but, fair play to Mayo, they kept hanging on, brought it to extra-time, and kicked on from there,” said John Scanlon, continuing the theme. “We just faded out.
“We knew we were coming good the last few weeks. We’d brought in a few lads, we were working hard in the last month, and training was improving all the time.
“Mayo did kick a lot of wides but they had the heart to hang in there. They were missing a few big players too and they’ll be improving.”
Paul Coggins also attempted to put Mayo’s performance into context.
“I’m sure that will be a good game for them. They’ll remember it and it’ll help them. We’re not just there as also-rans anymore. We aim to improve, and keep improving.
“It was nearly our day.
“In the last five minutes we gave away a couple of frees and Mayo never gave in. Other teams would have had doubts about themselves at that stage because we were on top.”
Moments later Séan Kelly from Crossmolina came striding out of the London dressing-room, his face betraying his emotions. “Not bad,” he smiled, the adrenaline still pumping after turning in a typically all-action display off the bench.
Fittingly, in their centenary year, this was London’s day.
