LONDON manager Ciaran Deely has told his squad to forget about last weekend’s heavy defeat to Wexford and focus on this weekend’s visit of Antrim.
Despite getting off to a positive start, London were soon pegged back as they struggled to cope with the swift counter-attacks of the hosts.
“We got a goal in the first couple of minutes and then in the next 10 minutes or so we actually created quite a lot of chances and opened them up a couple of times,” Deely told The Irish Post.
“And then we didn’t manage to finish off those moves we kicked a couple of balls short and we got overturned. It just seemed that as the first-half went on they were getting us on the counter-attack quite a lot and picking up scores.
“The second-half was a disappointing performance. We had hoped to produce a better performance in the second-half and we spoke about that at half-time, but it just never really materialised. It was a big score at the end and they tagged on a couple of goals when the game was really over for us at that stage. That was disappointing for us obviously."
Despite the heavy loss, Deely is refusing to dwell on matters, and he has instructed his troops to do likewise.
“We spoke on the pitch briefly after. I’m not really one for huge big team talks, so we briefed them about the game and discussed a few things we need to improve on and then we just said we have to forget about that and move on.
“So, they will have a quick look at the DVD then we start preparing for Antrim. It’s tricky with the league because you have a game every weekend at this stage, so you have to keep your control. Antrim are a really good team this season and I think that it’ll be a big challenge, but we need to look for a good performance this weekend and then look towards the last games then to see results.”
With Deely being back in his hometown for the latest defeat, the former Wexford captain admits it was a nice return to The Model County.
“It was enjoyable,” he said. “I met a lot of players who I played with and against and the county board executives were friendly and nice, they all came and said ‘welcome back’, and that was a nice experience. I got to meet some of my family, which I hadn’t met since Christmas time, so it was nice for them to come and support the game. It’s a pity that we didn’t compete better.
With Antrim in London this weekend, Deely is aware of their physical prowess.
“We’ve had a look at the Antrim and Wexford game and we have some reports of another game that they played. They’re a very physical team, probably the most physical team in Division 4, and that could be very good.
"We played them last year and I don’t think we were ever going to win that game but we competed right until the end and it’s going to be another huge challenge. I think Antrim, Leitrim and Louth are probably the top three teams in the division, so it’ll be a tough one for us.”
