London ensure Waterford remain winless
A confident and composed team performance and 1-04 from Jim Davis helped Michael Maher's London record their second Allianz Football League Division 4 win of the year as they beat Waterford at Ruislip's McGovern Park in west London.
London led the charge on the scoring front in this one. A Shay Rafter point and a Stephen Curry free got both the hosts and Waterford up and running.
A brace of Joe McGill points and a score from Jim Davis helped the Londoners set the tone before Ciaran Diver stuck the ball past Josh Sheridan in the Waterford net with 16 minutes on the clock gone.
That put London six points up, with Waterford needing to find a way back into the contest. Conor Murray kicked their first point from open play and their second of the day in the 18th minute.
That didn't disrupt London's momentum, and they were further ahead when Micheal O'Reilly became the second London man to find the net in the 20th minute between points from his team-mates Davis and Tara clubman Rafter.
Alan Dunwoody and Stephen Curry broke up the pattern of London scores only for Davis, who would finish as London's top scorer, to kick a majestic two-pointer before gobbling up the chance to get himself on the scoresheet when he raised a green flag with half an hour played.
The mountain Ephie Fitzgerald's men were having to climb was starting to look like Everest, but they'd go into the half-time break still with a chance of salvaging something. to show for their efforts.
Stephen Curry split the posts once more before rattling the net, capitalising on sloppiness from the London defence before Conor Murray grabbed Waterford's second goal of the game with a fantastic finish to make it a seven-point game by the time the two teams went in for some half-time refreshments.
When the teams came back out for the second half, Stephen Curry and London's Conal Gallagher and Diver traded scores, with the latter kicking a hat-trick of points until Waterford sub Conor Fennell pointed at the other end for the visitors.
Stephen Curry and Darragh Walsh followed Londonder Rafter's lead in front of the posts, but the Déise needed a goal if they were really going to put the squeeze on the hosts inside the final 10 minutes, rather than just points.
London's final points came in the 60th and 63rd minutes, courtesy of McGill, which ended any suggestion of an unlikely Waterford comeback.
However, they did finish strongly thanks to the efforts of Adam Murray, Stephen Curry and Walsh, while Michael Curry needlessly saw red in injury time to cap off another poor performance and a fifth defeat of the season in what is proving to be another miserable year for Waterford's footballers.
London: Andy Walsh; Stephen Henry, Matt Moynihan, Sean O'Donoghue; Conor Goggin, Conal Gallagher (0-01), Conor O’Donohue; Liam Gallagher (Captain), Josh Obahor; Joe McGill (0-05), Tighe Barry, Micheal O’Reilly (1-00); Ciaran Diver (1-03), Shay Rafter (0-03), Jim Davis (1-04, 1 2p)
London subs: Jack Power for Stephen Henry (42’), Marc Friel for Conal Gallagher (57’), Nathan Feeney for Jim Davis (62’), Liam Crowley for Conor Goggin (66’), Liam Murphy for Josh Obahor (66’)
Waterford: Josh Sheridan; Billy Hynes, Darach Ó Cathasaigh, Conor Ó Cuirrín; Conor Murray (1-01) (Captain), Adam Crawford, Michael O’Brien; Michael Curry, Caoimhín Walsh; Darragh Walsh (0-02), Dermot Ryan, Liam Mulligan; Alan Dunwoody (0-01), Stephen Curry (1-06, 0-03f), Glen Power
Waterford subs: James Walsh for Glen Power (25’), Tommy Martin for Darach Ó Cathasaigh (42’), Conor Fennell (0-01) for Liam Mulligan (47’), Adam Murray (0-01) for Caoimhín Walsh (62’)
Referee: Ian Howley (Dublin)
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