O'Dwyer praises late hero Hannon

Mick O'Dwyer reserved some special praise for Wicklow's match-winner Tony Hannon after he held his nerve to land the decisive score in this afternoon's action-packed 1-15 to 0-17 win over Down.

The big centre-forward, fittingly from the Hollywood club, provided the final twist in an absorbing third round qualifier that saw Wicklow continue their fairytale Championship story.

Wicklow led this Aughrim tie by 1-09 to 0-09 at half-time, thanks to Leighton Glynn's opportunist, early goal, but Down kept pace with the hosts and built some late momentum.

Successive points from substitute Ronan Murtagh, defender Conor McGarvey and key forward Benny Coulter squared up the game at 1-14 to 0-17 and set up a grandstand finish.

However, Down missed three scoring chances as injury-time arrived and Hannon, after James Stafford had a goal-bound shot blocked away by Brendan McVeigh, was presented with a '45' to win it.

The same player missed a similar effort against Westmeath in the Leinster Championship but he brilliantly swung this kick through the uprights to end Down's Championship hopes and put Wicklow within 70 minutes of a prized All-Ireland quarter-final place.

Speaking afterwards to RTE Sport, a delighted O'Dwyer spoke of his admiration for six-point hero Hannon and his ability to kick scores under pressure.

"I'm delighted for Tony Hannon. He was under a lot of pressure after missing that '45' against Westmeath in Tullamore, but today he hit that ball exceptionally well," said the Kerryman, who took over Wicklow in late 2006 when they were ranked 31st in Ireland.

"It was a marvellous kick at a vital stage in the game. Tony's a great man for pressure and he showed that today.

"A lot of people would say it was a lack of pressure in Tullamore but when we needed to make the kick today he got it."

After three home victories over Ulster opposition - they beat Fermanagh and Cavan in previous rounds - Wicklow head into tomorrow's fourth round qualifier draw with huge confidence.

Buoyed by how his players dug deep and maintained their work-rate from start to finish, O'Dwyer would dearly look a crack at one of the heavyweights, including his own native Kerry, in the next round.

"At that stage, when they got level, it looked like Down were going to go on and win, but our fellas kept on battling all the way.

"In the three qualifier games we've never used a sub, that must be a record in Gaelic football. The 15 players that started each game finished and they finished again today and finished well I tell you."

He added: "We don't mind now (who we get in the draw), we'll play whatever team is put in front of us. Let's hope it will be one of the big ones."