| Hurlers look for a change of fortune
 When
London manager Brendan Bolger reflects on his side’s two games in
the National League so far this year he would be forgiven for wondering
why London aren’t top of the table.
The Exiles were beaten in Tralee by a late Michael Boxer Slattery goal
last month and on Sunday relinquished the lead to Mayo in the dying seconds
to come away with a hard-earned point.
On another day Slattery’s shot would have ended up on the other
side of the post and Keith Higgins late free would have been caught by
a gust of wind and sent hurtling towards the Atlantic but so far Lady
Luck hasn’t been kind to London’s hurlers.
Bolger said: “It’s harsh on our lads. We should have won both
games but in fairness we need to be more ruthless.
“We know we have the beating of every team in this group but they
don’t hand out any silverware in March. We have to keep believing
and learning from our mistakes if we’re going to be successful.”
On Sunday London face Kildare in a crucial game at Ruislip. “This
is simply a must-win game. If we don’t beat Kildare then we can’t
qualify for the quarter-finals and that’s where we want to be,”
said Bolger.
“The problem for us so far has been continuity. The players need
to be playing together more. Only then will that killer-instinct be developed.
We know we can beat Kildare but they’re a physical and fit side
and we’ll have to be at our best if we’re to move up the table.”
Victory over Kildare would set London up for a mammoth clash with Westmeath
at home on April 1.
If they could defeat the Lake County then they would qualify for the latter
stages of the League but Bolger accepts it’s still a big if.
He said: “We know we can beat both Kildare and Westmeath but killing
games off needs to become a feature of our game. Kildare have strong players
such as David Kennedy at centre-back and Mattie Dowd and so we must make
sure we hurl to our abilities on Sunday if we are to progress.”
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