CARR'S MEN NOT QUITE IN TOP GEAR.

Byline: MARTIN CRUMMEY

Down 1-16 London 1-07

ROSS CARR attempted to play down his sides poor second half performance against London on Saturday night.

The Mourne men still ran out nine point winners, but at one stage the Exiles had the margin down to three points.

Down failed to score for 16 second half minutes, as their visitors rattled off four scores.

Chris Donnellan's 53rd minute goal really spooked the home side, but a dubious Benny Coulter goal seven minutes from the end, settled the tie.

"Sometimes it is a wee bit naive to think that because you are winning 0-12 to 0-3 that that is going to be double that score at the end of the game," reasoned Carr. "I would say that if you broke the game into quarters, then we had three quarters and they had one."

Coulter's goal had a hint of a square ball after Danny Hughes passed the ball across for the Mayobridge man to tap in.

It was interesting that Carr had instructed his players to take the London keeper - Brian McBreaty - out of the equation in the second half, after his four point blank saves in the first.

He said,"We spoke at half time that when you are playing against a really good shot stopper, you have to take him out of the equation - with the quick hands the boys showed for our goal did that.

London boss, Noel Dunning, also disputed the crucial goal.

Dunning said, "They got a goal at a vital stage and knocked the stuffing out of us - debatable goal from where I was standing.

"But it was a vital stage, they carved us open - that was the clinical finishing you expect at this level."

Dunning's men were much better in the second half with Armagh man Padraig Duffy really getting to grips with the Down midfield.

In the end Carr was just glad to get into the next round.

"It wasn't an easy game and the difficulty with the qualifying system is that you don't get a long time to prepare for an opponent. "It's really a question of getting Down right for next week and waiting." DOWN: B McVeigh; C McGovern, K McKernan, D Rafferty; T Hanna, P Murphy, C Garvey (0-2); D Gordon (02), S Kearney; D Hughes (0-3), C Maginn, B McArdle (0-2, 1f); B Coulter (1-0), P McComiskey (0-3, 1f), J Boyle (0-3, 1 '45). SUBS: C Murney for T Hanna 39, P Fitzpatrick for S Kearney 54, R Sexton (0-1) for B McArdle 54, D O'Hanlon for K McKernan (inj) 56, A Rodgers for C Maginn 67 LONDON: B McBrearty; D Conlon, P Malone, B Comer; O Coffey, E O'Cuiv, C Beirne; P Geraghty (0-1), F McMahon; A Murray, P Duffy (0-2), J Hughes; K Downes (0-2f), K McMenamin (0-2, 1f), D Keating. SUBS: R Ormsby for O Coffey HT, C Donnellan (1-0) for D Keating HT, C McCallon for A Murray HT, REFEREE: P Fox (Westmeath)

CAPTION(S):

GRAPPLEPaul Murphy gets to grips with Padraig Duffy of London