Wicklow bounced back convincingly from their disappointing defeat to Sligo in round two with a comfortable 1-16 to 1-9 win over visiting London in Aughrim.
It's the first win of the campaign for Oisin McConville’s side and should give the Garden County men a boost ahead of their visit to Laois next Saturday night, while Michael Maher’s men will hope that home advantage for the clash with Sligo in McGovern Park will help them get off the mark.
Holding London to just one point when their full-back Paul McLoughlin was in the sinbin early in the second half was a key factor in this win for Wicklow, who proceeded to put the game out of sight when they returned to a full 15, the impressive Jacques McCall replacing the Blessington man and Paddy O’Keane looking very at home in the number three position.
But the real secret to the victory was the performance of Dean Healy at midfield, the St Patrick’s clubman grabbing two points and having a hand in everything positive for the Wicklow team on a grey, drizzly afternoon. Healy was assisted superbly by Podge O’Toole, Andy Maher and Karl Furlong.
A slowness in transition by McConville’s men early on was soon sorted and they led by 1-1 to 0-2 after 18 minutes thanks to a sweet goal from the well marshalled Kevin Quinn; London’s points coming from Joseph McGill (one free) with the visitors registering three early wides.
Wicklow led by 1-6 to 0-6 at the break and retired with a degree of confidence knowing that they had the strong breeze in the second half.
Despite an early burst with two points, from Kevin Quinn (free) and Eoin D’Arcy, that confidence faded slightly when McLoughlin, who had been enjoying a great battle with Gallagher on the edge of the square, was shown a black card by referee Barry Tiernan for a trip that resulted in a penalty.
The impressive Christopher Farley dispatched the spot-kick, but Wicklow struck back immediately through a Mark Jackson free to leave three between the sides at 1-9 to 1-6.
London reduced the lead to two through a McGill free but that was as good as it got for the Exiles, with Dean Healy summing up his performance in one move moments later when beating three men before lofting over an exquisite score.
Onwards drove McConville’s men with points from the electric Eoin (2), the hard-working Mark Kenny, Kevin Quinn, Healy again and substitute Cian O’Sullivan with his first touch of the game.
Wicklow should have had several goals in the second half, but keeper Kevin Mullan came to London's rescue on a number of occasions and Oisin McConville will be hoping that the killer instinct improves before next weekend's trip to Portlaoise.
Wicklow: Mark Jackson (0-2, 2f); Malachy Stone, Paul McLoughlin, Karl Furlong; Paddy O’Keane, Eoin Murtagh, Zach Cullen; Dean Healy (0-2), Podge O’Toole (0-1); Craig Maguire, JP Hurley, Andy Maher; Eoin D’Arcy (0-6, 2f, 1m), Mark Kenny (0-1), Kevin Quinn (1-3).
Subs: Jacques McCall for P McLoughlin (51), Arran Murphy for C Maguire (60), Cian O’Sullivan (0-1) for JP Hurley (64), Cillian McDonald for D Healy (66), Adam McHugh for K Quinn (70).
London: Kevin Mullan; Eoin Walsh, Michael Clarke, Nathan McElwaine; Ronan Slone, Conal Gallagher, Aidan McLoughlin; Daniel Clarke, Stephen Dornan (0-2); Christopher Farley (1-2, 1 pen, 2f), Enda Lynn (0-1), Niall O’Leary; Joseph McGill (0-3, 2f), James Gallagher (0-1), Matthew Walsh.
Subs: Kevin McCarthy for E Lynn (H/T), Eunan Curran for R Slone (53), Liam Gavaghan for J Gallagher (60), Eoin Flanagan for C Gallagher (66), Fiontan Eastwood for N McElwaine (67).
Referee: Barry Tiernan (Dublin)
