Giants edge out winless Dolphins in historic London clash

NEW York Giants took the honours in the first ever competitive NFL match to be played outside North America as Miami Dolphins remained winless for the season.

After a glitzy pre-game show, the Dolphins raced on to the field amidst a firework display as, appropriately, Led Zeppelin’s ‘Immigrant Song’ rumbled around Wembley.

The stadium was a sea of flash bulbs as Giants kicker Lawrence Tynes sent the opening kick-off high into the London sky.

Miami, roared on by a pro-Dolphin crowd, charged down field on their first play, with running back Jesse Chatman seeing plenty of the ball, but they were held to a field goal attempt after Cleo Lemon threw an incomplete pass to Justin Peelle.

Kicker Jay Feely was given the first opportunity to write his name into the record books but his 48-yard effort went wide.

The Giants took over and it was a Brit who scored the opening points of the game after the Dolphins defence stood firm.

Tynes swept in a 20-yard field goal to cap off a 59-yard drive by New York to give the ‘visitors’ a 3-0 lead.

Both sides traded possession as the rain continued to pour down and it was not until the end of the second quarter that Wembley greeted its first touchdown.

Quarterback Eli Manning — younger brother of record-breaking Indianapolis Colts star Peyton — ran in from 10 yards out after a 69-yard charge downfield.

Tynes converted the touchdown and added a field goal in the final seconds to give New York a 13-0 half-time advantage.

The Giants seemed content to run down the clock at the start of the third quarter but the game was brought back to life when Dolphins defensive end Jason Taylor recovered a fumble after Matt Roth hammered Manning from behind.

Miami running back Chatman produced a 22-yard carry as the offence sparked into life, and Lemon and Derek Hagen almost combined for a touchdown but Sam Madison ripped the ball away in the endzone and they were forced to settle for a 29-yard field goal by Feely to bring them within 10 points.

Tynes then hooked a 29-yard kick left of the uprights as the Giants failed to extend their lead.

Spurred on by the miss, Lemon led Miami back down the field and hit Ted Ginn Jr for a diving 21-yard touchdown.

An onside kick attempt followed but the ball went out of bounds.

The Giants subsequently ran out the clock to move to a 6-2 record for the season so far, leaving the Dolphins 0-8.