NFL 4: Furlong hat-trick sinks Exiles

February 21, 2010
Wicklow 4-13
London 1-5

Seanie Furlong struck for 3-2 as Wicklow recorded their second win in as many games yesterday against London to bulk up their bid for promotion out of Division Four.

From the start, this didn't look to be London's day as they missed a first minute goal chance when Wicklow 'keeper Mervyn Travers dropped a high ball in front of Killian Phair and the corner-forward drove an opportunist strike off the crossbar.

It was an early wake-up call for Mick O'Dwyer's team as they went on to dominate the rest of the game, with Furlong's first major of the day being backed up with points by Tony Hannon to help their team into a 1-8 to 0-3 lead at the break.

In the second-half, the visitors to Ruislip soon put the issued to bed when the lethal Furlong grabbed a brace of goals which devastated London.

To their credit though, the hosts never threw in the towel and through a well-worked Johnny Hughes goal and frees from Phair they got responses on the scoreboard, but a fourth Wicklow goal from substitute Darren Hayden made sure the victory was emphatic in the end.

Wicklow - M Travers; C Hyland, S Kelly, A Byrne; P McWalter (0-2), B McGrath, S Canavan; J Stafford (0-1), JP Dalton; P Dalton, T Hannon (0-4, 2f), R Finn (0-2); S Furlong (3-2, 1f), L Glynn (0-1), P Earls. Subs: D Hayden (1-0) for Earls (19), P Cunningham (0-1) for P Dalton (h-t), N Gaffney for Finn (60), C Jones for Glynn (66).

London - E Byrne; D Egan, B Comer, D McBride; J Hughes (1-0), C Beirne, K O'Leary; P Geraghty, E O'Cuiv; C McAllion (0-2), J McCormick, A Fitzgerald; N Egan, D Horan (0-1), K Phair (0-2, 2f). Subs: J Meyler for O'Leary (19), D Hagan for Egan (40), N Tuohy for Egan (55), C Conneely for McBride (60), O Coffey for Phair (66).

Ref: S McNamee (Tyrone)

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