Joe McDonagh Cup
London 4-9
Antrim 1-22
At Ruislip, London

ANTRIM secured their first victory of this year’s Joe McDonagh Cup campaign with a hard-fought win over London on a cold and blustery afternoon in Ruislip, although Davy Fitzgerald’s side were forced to withstand a dramatic late comeback from the hosts before finally getting over the line.

Despite early signs that showed real promise for the Saffrons, the hosts made sure the final minutes were far from comfortable as they managed to find the net three times giving their opponents real worry in the closing stages.

For long periods it appeared the Saffrons were cruising towards a comfortable victory. A strong third-quarter display saw the visitors establish a commanding 10-point advantage with just 10 minutes remaining, but a late surge of goals from the Exiles ensured a nervy finish and left Antrim clinging on by the closing stages.

The contest was slow to come to life early on, with the opening half largely dominated by placed balls.

London’s Ronan McGrady and Antrim talisman Seaan Elliott exchanged frees throughout a scrappy opening period, though Elliott’s accuracy and all-round influence stood out. The visitors eventually edged clear to take a three-point lead into half-time.

The away side got off to a quick-fire start, with Seaan Elliot finding his range with two scores in the opening moments, but Ronan McGrady equalled the opposition talisman with a brace of scores of his own for London.

As the first-half rolled on both sides never really got to grips with the windy conditions in Ruislip, but eventually a flurry of Antrim strikes from St John's duo Conor Johnston and Conall Bohill before Elliot's free, saw the small whistle sound for the half.

Antrim looked set to kick on after the restart when Paul Boyle opened the scoring, but London quickly responded through a superb individual goal from Paul Kennedy who cut in from the right before firing to the net. Another McGrady free soon restored parity and briefly swung momentum towards the home side.

However, Antrim regained control impressively, slowing the tempo and taking scores at crucial moments.

Conal Cunning’s excellent goal looked to have ended the contest, after the Dunloy forward managed to find the space to power his effort for a green flag.

Although, London refused to fold and were led by Captain Sean Glynn, who inspired the rally with a well-taken finish before Jack Morrissey hammered a free through a packed goalmouth for the slíotar to somehow find its way into the goal for a third London major.

Panic began to set in, and any control Antrim had in the second half seemed to disappear as a fourth goal from London substitute Conor Byrne then rattled the net in injury time to reduce the gap to just three points.

Any hopes of a dramatic turnaround were ended when Pádraig Muldoon saw red for throwing his hurley while attempting to halt an Antrim counterattack.

And Antrim would return from the English capital with all the spoils when James McNaughton converted the resulting free to finally secure the win and send the points back across the Irish Sea.

The defeat leaves London staring at a likely return to the Christy Ring Cup, with difficult clashes against Carlow and Laois still to come.

Antrim, meanwhile, will look to build momentum ahead of consecutive home fixtures against Westmeath and Carlow, with hopes of reaching the competition decider still very much alive should they win outright, with two home fixtures leaving it firmly in the balance.

London: M Kilgannon; A Cunney, P Muldoon, B Morrissey; N Fitzgerald, J Morrissey, J Loughnane; T Hanifin, R Lodge; N Quinlan, R McGrady, F Whelan; S Glynn, P Kennedy, E McGrath. Subs: C Byrne for Whelan (46), N Eames for Lodge (36), S Whelan for Quinlan (60), D Leary for McGrath (67), E Kelly for Fitzgerald (68).

Antrim: C McFadden; R McNulty, P Burke, S Rooney; O Donnelly, N O’Connor, G Walsh; K Molloy, P Boyle; C Bohill, C Cunning, R McCambridge; J McNaughton, C Johnston, S Elliott. Subs: J McCloskey for McCambridge (49), J McLaughlin for Bohill (51), R Donaghy for Elliott (59), R McCormick for Burke (65).

Scorers for Antrim: S Elliott 0-8 (4f), C Cunning 1-3, J McNaughton 0-3 (3f), K Molloy 0-3, C Johnston 0-1, C Bohill 0-1, P Boyle 0-1, J McCloskey 0-1, R Donaghy 0-1.

Scorers for London: R McGrady 0-5, (5f), P Kennedy, S Glynn 1-1 each, C Byrne, J Morrissey 1-0 each, N Fitzgerald 0-1, A Cunney 0-1.

Referee: N Malone (Clare)