Longford up and running in the Tailteann Cup after seeing off Wicklow

Longford recorded their first win of the Tailteann Cup with a very comfortable 3-17 to 2-09 victory over a disappointing Wicklow side in front of a very small crowd in Glennon Bros Pearse Park.

Wicklow goalkeeper Mark Jackson opened the scoring with a superb '45' conversion in the second minute, but with the losers conceding the kick-outs Longford went on to dominate the first half. Three unanswered points by the ninth minute put them into a lead they never looked remotely likely to relinquish, two of them coming from lively corner forward Oran Kenny (the first from a free).

Paddy Christie's men led by 0-03 to 0-02 when they pounced for their first goal in the 11th minute, Joe Hagan availing of a mix-up in the Wicklow defence and slotting the ball into the unguarded net after a Darren Gallagher point attempt had dropped short. In the 17th minute, a quickly-taken free by Keelin McGann teed up Dylan Farrell for a well-taken second goal.

Longford proceeded to kick some fine points from play and all of their six forwards made the scoresheet in the first half. The visitors got a boost in the 32nd minute when corner back Eoin Murtagh popped up close to the Longford goal to rifle the ball past Patrick Collum. However, Longford still led by 2-11 to 1-03 at the interval.

A brace of Kenny frees increased Longford’s lead within six minutes of the resumption of play. Oisín McConville’s troops responded with a hat-trick of unanswered points, but that was as good as it got and when Hagan rounded off a fine move with his second goal in the 52nd minute to put his side ahead by 3-14 to 1-06, any semblance of a contest disappeared.

Unexpected rain made underfoot conditions slippery in the second half and the closing quarter was quite lifeless