Underfoot conditions were dreadful and the persistent rain had the audacity to fall as sleet on occasions, explaining some of the handling errors that plagued the attacks of the men in black.

Right from the off Longford imposed themselves on the visitors.  Most of the opening 20 took place inside the Coolmine 22.  In this period Ciaran Kennedy crossed the whitewash after taking advantage of the yards Colm Glynn had cleverly garnered from a quick tap, but the centre was held up in the in goal area.

There followed a series of five metre scrums and although Longford were destroying the smaller pack the ref was unhappy with nuances of Longford’s set piece play. For the next ten minutes Longford continued to bang on the door with increasingly loud knocks, but the lights on the scoreboard refused to change.

With the try line throwing come hither eyes to Longford Glynn eschewed a couple of penalties before eventually opening accounts with a three pointer in the 31^st minute.  With the Dublin side cautioned about the repercussions of continuous offending Longford resumed their campaign of terrorism.

Outhalf Glynn repeatedly employed an inside pop pass that consistently made ground, but the scoreboard still stalled.  Longford’s physio must have considered putting holy water in the medical kit to treat Derek Farrell for the demon possessing him as he rampaged across the park.  Pack members Dylan Quinn, Clifford Richardson and Benny McManus were also instrumental in the dominance of the first half.

Seven minutes after the break the game’s only try was scored.  Following a knock on five metres inside the Longford half Fergal McGlade got a boot to the ball.  There followed a foot race through treacle before the flanker got a second hack to straighten his approach.  McGlade pounced five metres from the line and slid the last part of the journey.  Glynn added the afters to bring the tally to 10-00.

Longford continued to impose themselves on their opponents.  Huby Connolly, Justin Forde, substitutes Kurt Beeney and Ronan Keith all added to the Longford cause, and although they continued to dominate there were no more scores in the contest.

With eight minutes left to play Kevin Coffey was the unworthy recipient of a little yellow present from the ref, but even with the man advantage the Dubliner's could not come up with a plan to crack the Longford defence.

And just like that Longford sprang from the bottom spot to second last in the league.  Now only one point separates them from Tullow.  Can you guess where who their next opponent is?  Heading up to the Black Gates next Sunday makes for a particularly engaging encounter.

It would not be over dramatic to suggest that Tullow in Carlow will be one of the defining games of the season.  Back at the start of November the Carlow men won on a score line of 12-20.  Longford will be looking at their steady progress since that game and hoping that it will be enough to continue to play in Division 1B.

That game is not to be taken in isolation.  With the action on offer in the last three games Michael Bay could have had a hand in drawing up the season concluders. The clashes with Mullingar and Cill Dara will define the team’s ambition.

Dylan Quinn, Hubey Connolly, Justin Ford, Benny McManus, Aaron Beirne, Clifford Richardson, Fergal McGlade, Derek Farrell, Shane Rodgers, Colm Glynn, Jonathan Beirne, Ciaran Kennedy, James Connolly, Joe McGowan, George McDermott

Neil Farrell, Kevin Coffey, Niall Flynn, Kurt Beeney, Ronan Keith