Allianz Football League Division Four results/fixtures

WICKLOW 1-16 LONDON 1-9

SLIGO 0-21 WATERFORD 0-13

WEXFORD 0-19 LEITRIM 0-15

LAOIS 1-17 CARLOW 2-8

The promotion race in Division Four of the Allianz Football League is warming up nicely, though Laois will feel like they're in the driving seat after they produced an impressive second-half comeback to turn a five-point deficit into a 1-17 to 2-8 win over Carlow at Netwatch Cullen Park.

On a weekend where there were a host of local derbies taking place in the lower divisions, this was the most fractious game of the day, with three red cards to players and a host of yellow cards issued by referee Jonathan Hayes.

Carlow made a strong start to both halves, with Colm Hulton's early goal helping them into a lead, before Paul Kingston spearheaded a Laois revival to draw level by half-time at 1-5 to 0-8, with all eight points in the second quarter.

In the second half, Foley shot two points and Mikey Bambrick helped set up a goal for Eric Molloy, but Laois roared back, scoring eight points on the spin. Brian Byrne, Kingston, Evan O’Carroll and Mark Barry all found their range, with Kingston adding the Laois goal to bring his tally to 1-10 for the afternoon.

Brian Byrne and Evan O'Carroll of Laois and Carlow's Shane Buggy were all dismissed by Hayes late in the game.

At Markievicz Park, five points from wing back Dermot Ryan wasn't enough for Waterford as they came away empty-handed from their long trip to the northwest.

Ryan opened the scoring but Sligo, aided by the strong sea breeze, rallied to score seven out of the next eight points. Seán Carrabine was in sublime form for Tony McEntee's side, who lead by 0-9 to 0-4 at the interval.

Niall Murphy and Gerard O'Kelly Lynch added points after half-time as they extended their lead to nine by the 47th minute, leaving Waterford with far too much to do.

Leitrim had to make a long journey the other direction, and they too were unrewarded for their travels and travails, as Wexford struck five of the last six points of an otherwise even contest at Chadwicks Wexford Park.

Evan Sweeney and Keith Beirne struck some excellent points for Leitrim in the first half, but indiscipline cost Andy Moran's men throughout the tie, with Darragh Brooks and Mark Rossiter scoring nine frees between them.

At 0-14 each with six minutes to play, the tie was in the melting point but it was Wexford who came good to record their first win of the year, thanks to impressive midfielder Niall Hughes, Mark Rossiter (two), full-back Brian Molloy and substitute Cian Hughes grabbing late scores.

Yesterday's only game in this Division saw Wicklow got their first win of 2023 in Aughrim. Their ability to keep tabs on London during a crucial ten-minute black card spell early in the second half set them up to finish strongly and record a seven-point win over London.

After a tight opening quarter where both sides were guilty of errors in front of the posts, most notable two goal chances from James Gallagher that the London attacker failed to convert, some clever work from Kevin Quinn led to the Blessington man registering a game-breaking goal, which helped Wicklow to lead by 1-6 to 0-6 at half-time.

The door was opened for London when they won a penalty early in the second half, which led to a Christopher Farley goal from the spot and a black card for Wicklow full-back Paul McLoughlin, but Oisín McConville’s side managed the game brilliantly throughout the spell while they were reduced to 14 men, restricting London to just one point from a Joseph McGill free in that time.

Wicklow still lead by 1-10 to 1-7 when they were brought back up to their full complement, and good scores from Kevin Quinn and Eoin Darcy ensured they eased to their first competitive victory under Oisín McConville’s management.