Offaly drew first blood, but London raced into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead inside the opening 10 minutes.
By the 21st minute, it was all square at four points a-piece.
London moved into the ascendancy again however, and led 0-8 to 0-6 at half time.
With Rafter pointing the way, the Exiles picked up where they left off on the restart and Dornan’s 51st minute goal made it 1-13 to 0-9.
Diver raised a second green flag with 65 minutes on the clock, the scoreline 2-17 to 0-12 at the juncture.
Elsewhere, Kildare, Sligo, Fermanagh, Down and Leitrim opened their respective Tailteann Cup bids with home wins.
Sligo beat Wexford on a scoreline of 2-21 to 2-15. Alan McLoughlin scored 1-5 from play for the Yeats county, while Mikey Gordon bagged their other goal.
Gordon was on target in the 11th minute, and the hosts led by five points – 1-3 to 0-1 – a minute later.
Wexford responded well. Dylan Furlong’s 18th-minute goal helped them lead by the minimum at half time, 1-8 to 1-7.
McLoughlin hit the back of the net just after the restart, and that proved the difference for quite some time. Sligo kept chipping away; Sean Carrabine who finished with 0-6 (5f) among those prominent before the posts.
Glen Malone grabbed a second goal for Wexford in the 64th minute, which made it 2-17 to 2-14, but Sligo held on to make a winning start.
Fermanagh, meanwhile, powered to a 19-point victory over Wicklow at Brewster Park.
Sean Cassidy and Conor Love (two) scored the second-half goals in the 3-16 to 0-9 hammering.
It was 0-1 a-piece as the clock struck 10 minutes, but Fermanagh soon got a foothold on the game and moved into a 0-4 to 0-1 advantage by 20.
Wicklow, to their credit, fought back in the first half, but never restored parity. Oisin McConville’s men trailed 0-8 to 0-4 at the break.
Five minutes into the second period, Sean Cassidy rattled the net to make it 1-10 to 0-5.
And super substitute Love ultimately sealed the dominant win with two goals in three minutes.
Down, similarly, had a straightforward success against Limerick. The winning margin was 14 points after they led from pillar to post.
Conor Laverty’s side were 0-10 to 0-4 up at the break.
Daniel Guinness’ goal made it 1-11 to 0-5 on the stroke of 40 minutes. Limerick’s first score from play arrived shortly afterwards when free-taker Peter Nash smashed home.
But they couldn’t claw back — and Jamie Baynham’s sending off made a difficult task worse as Down ran out comfortable winners.
Later, Kildare strolled to victory over Longford, recording a 3-25 to 1-11 win at Manguard Park in Hawkfield.
The Lilywhites had 13 different scorers with Paddy McDermott and Paddy Woodgate (two) supplying the goals.
And Leitrim were five-point winners against Waterford, a strong second-half showing seeing Andy Moran’s men win 0-17 to 0-12 in Ballinamore.
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London beat Offaly by 14 points to secure first championship win in over a decade
LAST UPDATE | 11 May 2024
Tailteann Cup Round 1 Results
Offaly 0-12 London 2-20
Sligo 2-21 Wexford 2-15
Fermanagh 3-16 Wicklow 0-9
Down 1-20 Limerick 1-6
Kildare 3-25 Longford 1-11
Leitrim 0-17 Waterford 0-12
***
LONDON HAVE SECURED their first championship win in 11 years after defeating Offaly by double scores in their Tailteann Cup opener.
The Exiles were 2-20 to 0-12 winners at Glenisk O’Connor Park, Tullamore this afternoon.
Second half goals from Stephen Dornan and Ciaran Diver were key, but Michael Maher’s side dominated throughout their 14-point win.
Donegal native Diver finished with 1-5, while Shay Rafter hit 0-4.
Offaly drew first blood, but London raced into a 0-4 to 0-1 lead inside the opening 10 minutes.
By the 21st minute, it was all square at four points a-piece.
London moved into the ascendancy again however, and led 0-8 to 0-6 at half time.
With Rafter pointing the way, the Exiles picked up where they left off on the restart and Dornan’s 51st minute goal made it 1-13 to 0-9.
Diver raised a second green flag with 65 minutes on the clock, the scoreline 2-17 to 0-12 at the juncture.
Elsewhere, Kildare, Sligo, Fermanagh, Down and Leitrim opened their respective Tailteann Cup bids with home wins.
Sligo beat Wexford on a scoreline of 2-21 to 2-15. Alan McLoughlin scored 1-5 from play for the Yeats county, while Mikey Gordon bagged their other goal.
Gordon was on target in the 11th minute, and the hosts led by five points – 1-3 to 0-1 – a minute later.
Wexford responded well. Dylan Furlong’s 18th-minute goal helped them lead by the minimum at half time, 1-8 to 1-7.
McLoughlin hit the back of the net just after the restart, and that proved the difference for quite some time. Sligo kept chipping away; Sean Carrabine who finished with 0-6 (5f) among those prominent before the posts.
Glen Malone grabbed a second goal for Wexford in the 64th minute, which made it 2-17 to 2-14, but Sligo held on to make a winning start.
Fermanagh, meanwhile, powered to a 19-point victory over Wicklow at Brewster Park.
Sean Cassidy and Conor Love (two) scored the second-half goals in the 3-16 to 0-9 hammering.
It was 0-1 a-piece as the clock struck 10 minutes, but Fermanagh soon got a foothold on the game and moved into a 0-4 to 0-1 advantage by 20.
Wicklow, to their credit, fought back in the first half, but never restored parity. Oisin McConville’s men trailed 0-8 to 0-4 at the break.
Five minutes into the second period, Sean Cassidy rattled the net to make it 1-10 to 0-5.
And super substitute Love ultimately sealed the dominant win with two goals in three minutes.
Down, similarly, had a straightforward success against Limerick. The winning margin was 14 points after they led from pillar to post.
Conor Laverty’s side were 0-10 to 0-4 up at the break.
Daniel Guinness’ goal made it 1-11 to 0-5 on the stroke of 40 minutes. Limerick’s first score from play arrived shortly afterwards when free-taker Peter Nash smashed home.
But they couldn’t claw back — and Jamie Baynham’s sending off made a difficult task worse as Down ran out comfortable winners.
Later, Kildare strolled to victory over Longford, recording a 3-25 to 1-11 win at Manguard Park in Hawkfield.
The Lilywhites had 13 different scorers with Paddy McDermott and Paddy Woodgate (two) supplying the goals.
And Leitrim were five-point winners against Waterford, a strong second-half showing seeing Andy Moran’s men win 0-17 to 0-12 in Ballinamore.
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GAA Tailteann Cup