Hanley hopeful on John appeal

Longford Town chairman Jim Hanley was optimistic after yesterday's appeal hearing at the FAI that the nine-point penalty imposed on the club as a result of Avery John playing three league games without international clearance will be overturned by the three-man committee which heard the case.

"I think coming out of the meeting we have a sense that it has gone well," he said. "The points we made were listened to properly and attentively. I think they acknowledged that we had some valid points to make."

The club's representatives were the last party to give evidence to the panel, chaired by Bill Attlee.

Earlier, both the league and the FAI had made submissions, and a good deal of the two hours Longford's officials spent in Merrion Square was taken up with answering questions arising out of evidence presented by the two organisations.

"They (the committee) had a lot of questions and we had a lot to say in answer to them," said Hanley. "In terms of what we might get back I don't know whether it will be three, six or nine points, but the feeling I got as we left was that it had gone well and that they'll give us all of the points that we lost - but then I've always thought that."

Seán Francis, meanwhile, joined Longford yesterday after Shamrock Rovers manager Liam Buckley conceded defeat in his battle to keep the unsettled striker at the Dublin club.

The signing ends Alan Matthews' long-running attempt to find a striking partner for Eric Lavine at Flancare Park.

Transfer deadline day's other notable move was the return of former Celtic and Bohemians winger Paul Byrne to the Eircom League. The Dubliner signed for Kilkenny City from Newry Town.

St Patrick's Athletic recruited Nigerian Adeyeyi Akala, and young Manchester United goalkeeper David Moran linked up with Athlone Town.

OTHER MAIN TRANSFERS: Alan Martin (Hull City to Shamrock Rovers); Rory Boyle (Omagh Town to Derry City); Keith Brown (Shelbourne to Drogheda United); Paul Curran (Ards to Dundalk); Loan move: Ciaran Quinn (St Patrick's Athletic to Drogheda United); Aidan O'Keeffe and Baba Issaka (St Patrick's Athletic to Kilkenny City); Stephen Gray (Southampton to Shelbourne); Craig Deane (Shelbourne to Dunalk).