National Football League Division 4 Round 2

National Football League Division 4 Round 2

London     1-16

Wicklow   0-10

Both these sides came off a positive showing in the previous round with Wicklow unlucky not to take a win over Waterford, instead having to settle for a draw while London will have been buoyed from their efforts against an efficient Carlow team who will in the running for promotion.  When these sides met last year in Aughrim it was a convincing win for Wicklow on a score line of 0-17 to 2-04. However, a total role reversal ensued in Sundays encounter as in McGovern Park Ruislip London impressed to turn the tables on a helpless Wicklow side.

Playing with the aid of a strong breeze in the first half London were more than impressive throughout the field disrupting attack after attack and then countering to great effect with swift forward movement spearheaded by Mark Gottsche, Liam Gavaghan Ryan Elliott and Fearghal McMahon, former Monaghan u-21 star. The real breakthrough came in the second quarter when Liam Gavaghan was on the end of a well worked move where he rounded the Wicklow keeper Mark Jackson before squeezing his shot inside the post. The score read 1-10 to 0-5 points as the teams headed for tunnel for half-time.

Wicklow manager John Evans rang the much-needed changes which did give Wicklow a boost on the resumption of the second half, however, this was not to last long and London soon wrestled back control. Then came the nail in Wicklow’s coffin as Eamonn Wolfe was shown a straight red card for a strike on London full-back Ryan Jones who later had to be walked off with suspected concussion. London cruised from here to the final whistle picking Wicklow off at will. The game finished in a 9-point comprehensive victory for the Exiles at 1-16 to 0-10. Liam Gavaghan for the second week in a row giving an outstanding performance ending with a personal tally of 1-07(4f).

London have now won one league game in the current campaign, which equals their records of the previous 6 years where they managed just one scalp in each campaign. This means they are well placed to buck the trend with 5 games remaining the next against Limerick on Sunday February the 11th in McGovern Park Ruislip. Limerick have failed to pick up any points so far in this year’s league but have arguably faced two of the tougher teams in the form of Carlow and Laois. This would suggest another tight and tough affair for Ciarán Deely and his charges in next weeks fixture.