MICK O'DWYER was back on the sideline to inspire Wicklow to Tommy Murphy Cup triumph at Croke Park.

The Kerry legend may have handed over he managerial reins briefly to Arthur French, but his influence was very much evident as the Garden men came back from the dead to snatch a sensational extra-time triumph Just when it looked as if Antrim were about to leave with the spoils, Tommy Gill showed his predatory instincts to smash home a winning goal in stoppage time. The sides were tied at 213 to 1-16 at the end of normal time, deadlocked still midway through extra-time, but Gill emerged as the late, late hero with a sensational winner of a hugely competitive and richly entertaining game.

The Wicklow attack was starved of quality possession for most of the initial quarter, but it all started to look rosy in the Garden when Derek Daly cut inside Sean Kelly to blast home his side's opening goal in the 15th minute. A four minute scoring burst saw them hit 1-2, with Leighton Glynn drilling home goal number two. At the break, Wicklow led by 2-5 to 0-8, and with Thomas Walsh plucking everything out of the air in the central area, they continued to press forward with purpose.

Full-forward Tony Hannon nailed on another couple of points, and a careless possession turnover cost Antrim another Glynn score and a five-point deficit. Substitute Michael Magill revived Saffron spirits, however, with a inspirational score from wide on the right. In fact the introduction of Magill had added some drive and power to their attack, and when he sliced through the Wicklow defence to launch a rocket, goalkeeper Mervyn Travers pulled off another magnificent save.

The tide had started to turn, and when Antrim were awarded a penalty for a foot block, Conor McGourty confidently blasted home the kick with 13 minutes of normal time to play. Glynn thought he had won it for Wicklow in stoppage time, but there was still time for Michael McCann to hold his nerve with a levelling free, tying it up at 1-15 to 2-12.

The blossoming McGourty traded scores with Glynn as the sides remained deadlocked at the midway point of added time. Antrim believed Magill's score had given them triumph, but there was to be one final cruel twist, James Stafford sending Gill in to finish to an empty net in the second minute of injury-time.

ANTRIM

S McGreevey; P Close, P Doherty, J Loughrey; S Kelly, E O'Neill (0-1), J Crozier; J Quinn, D Martin; A Gallagher (0-1), K Niblock, K Brady, C Close (0-5, 0-2 frees); M McCann (0-4, 2 frees), C McGourty (1-4) Subs M Magill (0-2) for Martin, 25 mins; S McVeigh for Kelly, 28 mins; B Hasson for Niblock, 51 mins; M Dougan for Quinn, 58 mins M Rea for Close, 63 mins WICKLOW M Travers; B O hAnnaidh, D Power, A Byrne; P Dalton (0-1), D O hAnnaidh, C Hyland; J Stafford, T Walsh (0-1); J McGrath (0-2), D Jackman, L Glynn (1-4); T Gill (1-1), T Hannon (0-4, 0-3 frees), D Daly (1-0) Subs E Rossiter for Jackman, 71 mins Referee P McGovern (Galway)