FOR Lorcan Mulvey there was an inevitably to last Monday week’s All Ireland football qualifiers round 1a draw with London and Cavan in the same pot. Another London match with Mulvey’s native Cavan beckons.
At the beginning of May London were involved in a rare inter-county challenge at Mulvey’s home club in Butlersbridge. That proved to be a pleasant occasion for Mulvey and his family, who remain devoted GAA enthusiasts.
“It was a huge thing for me to go back with London to play at my home club,” Mulvey admitted. “I’ve been playing football with Butlersbridge since I was nine or 10. To open the field representing London was a huge thing for me and my family too.
“My father was chairman and my mother was treasurer and I was the captain when I left the club. So we have heavy links there - it was a big enough day alright.”
Cavan are next on the London’s summer agenda, but Mulvey is keen to treat it the same as any other game. “I’m not dwelling on it a whole pile,” Mulvey replied when asked about whether the clash will carry any extra meaning.
“It is the third time I will have played against Cavan in two years. I know one of them was a challenge match, but I will have a job to do. We will just have to get ourselves ready as best as we can.”
So Cavan are set to invade the English capital this week and Mulvey is looking forward to seeing his family again. “My mother and father go to the most of our games when we play in Ireland. They will be over here next week. They have nothing else to be doing I suppose,” Mulvey jokes.
“So they come to shout at me, to tell me what I did wrong afterwards. They are good like that. My brothers and sisters too would go to a lot of the games aswell; they enjoy it.”
The message coming from every corner of the London camp in the weeks following the Connacht Senior Football Championship loss against Roscommon focused on the importance of being more ‘clinical’.
It is something Mulvey agrees with. “We made chances against Roscommon. I don’t like to be talking in ifs and buts again, but we were just missing that clinical finish I suppose. Hopefully we can make more of our chances against Cavan.”
Mulvey, a central figure in London’s thrilling 2013 summer adventure, is adamant that the Exiles have made significant strides in the past decade. “I think momentum is definitely a big thing for us. We go through our league campaigns we are always still trying to find our feet because of the turnover of players. Some people might say it is the same old excuse, but it does make a difference.
“Getting games with the same team over and over with only one or two changes helps. If you get one result it makes a huge difference to London. When we do that we seem to go from strength to strength.
“I don’t think we talk about it as much anymore because I think we know it. We are the London team that wins games. We are always looking to win three or four games in a year now instead of clipping a game in the league and having a good show in the Championship. That is not what we are about anymore.
“We are looking to go forward with the thing: to try to win a few games in the league. Championship is different; ideally we would like to be applying ourselves with a settled team.”
Cavan arrive in London with a promising young side, but Mulvey reckons it is a particularly awkward assignment for the visitors. “Speaking from a Cavan point of view people have been hoping that they would be able to turn those under 21 victories into wins at senior level. It hasn’t seem to come like that really, but the hope is now turning into expectation with them.
“That can work against them. Hopefully it will against London. This is a fixture that they cannot wait to get over I imagine. It is a no win situation for them. We have to look at it from every angle and that is something we are looking at for sure.”
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