Wicklow were too sharp for Fermanagh at Croke Park this evening, 2-16 to 1-11.

Harry Murphy's men never looked back from the moment full forward Seanie Furlong found the net in the ninth minute and they took the silverware even easier than the final scoreline might suggest.

Wicklow will go into their Leinster championship clash with struggling Meath full of confidence but Peter Canavan will be a worried man after watching his side surrender their unbeaten record in the league. On the evidence of this display, Fermanagh have no chance against Down.

The losers notched just two points in the second half.

The Leinster County led by 2-8 to 1-9 at the end of an absorbing first half. Thanks to goals from Furlong and Ciaran Hyland, they enjoyed a nine-point advantage at one stage but Eoin Donnelly netted for Peter Canavan's men and they had the gap down to the minimum before Wicklow registered again in injury-time.

Anyone who glanced at the scoreboard would have thought it was full time, but there were still another 35 minutes to go in a truly fantastic contest. After the restart, it was all Wicklow, though...

Wing back Barry Mulrone collected a pass from Seamus Quigley to open the scoring for Fermanagh in the first minute; Wicklow midfielder James Stafford's attempted leveller went wide at the other end. Quigley had his goalbound shot excellently saved by Garden County custodian John Flynn and also fluffed a '45' before calmly stroking over a free from the hands to double the northerners' advantage after eight minutes.

Wicklow had hardly got out of their own half but, incredibly, their No.14 Seanie Furlong collected possession from Stafford and shook off his marker to plant an unstoppable shot in the bottom right-hand corner of the net. And Furlong then tapped over a close-range free to make it 1-1 to 0-2 after ten minutes.

Fermanagh captain Ryan McCluskey was harshly penalised as he and Furlong grappled for possession and the latter brushed himself down to convert nicely from an awkward angle. Quigley (free) replied at the Hill 16 end. The crowd may or may not have greeted that score with a cheer … it was hard to tell as Croker was eerily deserted with only a couple of thousand spectators present.

Furlong had made a wonderful start and he brought his tally - and Wicklow's - to 1-3 after 15 minutes. Captain Leighton Glynn somehow found the space to knock over a fourth point for Harry Murphy's team even though he was surrounded by a green forest of opponents.

In the 17th minute, Wicklow struck for their fourth goal and it came from an unlikely source: corner back Ciaran Hyland. Goalkeeper Ronan Gallagher did well to save the initial shot but Hyland kept going and palmed the rebounder to the back of the net. Stafford booted over a wonderful point almost instantly: 2-5 to 0-3 and this match looked to be over as a contest after 18 minutes.

Stafford struck a great point with his left foot and Eamon Maguire replied to close the gap to eight. Wing back Conor Quigley slotted over an excellent score for the border county and they were right back in the game in the 25th minute when midfielder Eoin Donnelly arrowed an exquisite daisy-cutter into the bottom corner of the Wicklow net off the inside of the left post: 2-6 to 1-5.

Desperate Fermanagh defending repelled Furlong and there were wides at either end before Gallagher made a stunning save to deny John McGrath. Tomas Corrigan hit a tidy point to make it a one-point game but Glynn conjured an instant reply.

Corrigan had a taste of it now and he added a quickfire brace as the Ernesmen closed the gap to two with as many minutes left in the first half. Daryl Keenan whacked over another point in the 35th minute and Tony Hannon created the space to hit the last point of an exhilarating first half in injury time.

Hannon added to the Wicklow total four minutes after the restart but Darren Hyden had spurned a great goal-scoring opportunity, opting to take his point but firing wide. Rory Finn made it 2-10 to 1-9 after 45 minutes.

Flynn stood up cleverly and made a fabulous save to deny Corrigan (who had tried to sell a dummy) and Furlong's free was Wicklow's fourth successive score. Fermanagh's comeback had been nipped in the bud - there were now five points between the teams again approaching the three-quarters stage…

When the impressive Hannon curled over a beautiful free from off the ground, it was 2-12 to 1-9. After Fermanagh has closed the gap from a Paul Ward free, Finn tapped over his second score to make it a six-point match again with nine minutes remaining.

Wicklow clearly had the legs on their opponents and they looked to be in a different league entirely. Again, Finn eased forward from midfield to make it 2-14 to 1-10.

There was time for Man of the Match Furlong to add twice more to his impressive tally as the Garden men ran out easy victors and Glynn capped a historic day for the winners by collecting the silverware.

Wicklow: J Flynn; C Hyland (1-0), A McLoughlin, A Byrne; D Healy, M McLoughlin, S Kelly; J Stafford (0-2), R Finn (0-3); L Glynn (0-2), D O'Sullivan, D Hayden; T Hannon (0-4), S Furlong (1-5), J McGrath. Subs: P Burke for O'Sullivan (48); P Earls for McGrath (62).

Fermanagh: R Gallagher; N Bogue, B Cox, N McGovern; C Quigley (0-1), R McCluskey, B Mulrone (0-1); S Lyons, E Donnelly (1-0); D Keenan (0-1), S McCabe, R Jones; E Maguire (0-1), S Quigley (0-2), T Corrigan (0-3). Subs: B Owens for McGovern (h-t); D Kille (0-1) for Jones (48); M McGrath for Mulrone (52); P Ward (0-1) for Maguire (52).

Referee: F Kelly (Longford). Tweet

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