London’s dream of a second win on the bounce died as Waterford swept them aside 1-17 to 0-13 in Ruislip on Saturday.
A Gary Hurney goal in the third minute set the tone and the Exiles never really found their feet. Once they lost talisman Paul Geraghty just before half-time for two yellow cards, then the Exiles hopes evaporated.
Eoin O’Neill opened the scoring inside a minute for Paul Coggin’s side but they would not lead for long as dual-star Hurney struck to give Waterford the perfect start.
London grabbed a smart response via Gergahty but the pattern of the game was quickly set.
Waterford dominated possession and they created chance after chance in the first half with the aid of the breeze. The visitors had soon opened up an eight-point lead but any hopes London had of taking advantage of the elements in the second half was lost when Geraghty was dismissed.
Man of the match in the games against Mayo and Fermanagh, the talented forward picked up two needless bookings and there would be no way back from the half-time deficit of 1-10 to 0-5.
The wind did aid London in the second half and three quick points raised hope in the Exiles heart. However, when Ciaran McCallion joined Geraghty on the sideline after his second yellow in the 53rd minute. He lunged in on Waterford captain Tony Grey, leaving referee Syl Doyle no choice but to produce book him again and dismiss him. At a stroke the brief fightback was over.
Waterford cruised through the rest of the game with scores from Paul Whyte and Wayne Hennessy helping them home.