Opportunity squandered as slow start costs win

JOT THIS down as an opportunity squandered.

Wexford came out flat in this Eirgrid Leinster Under-20 football championship tie with Westmeath in Cusack Park, Mullingar, on Monday of last week, and it will potentially cost them a knockout spot.

With 29 minutes on the clock, Jamie Myler stood over a free, about 30 metres from goal with his Wexford side trailing by 0-9 to 1-2.

To tap it over and get in at just three points down would have been utopia for Brendan Kehoe and his management team.

Westmeath had clearly put a concerted, leg-leadening effort into the first-half. Their intensity levels were through the roof, they never let up for a second, and it was clearly going to bite them as the game moved into the second-half on one of the warmest evenings of the year.

The hosts should have been out of sight at that stage, as they played all the football, and were out in front consistently.

They mixed up their attacks too, as they fired long to corners, and won those battles, but also built though the middle to a forward in Seán Pettit that was confident and accurate.

It would have been close to robbery for Wexford to get in at half-time just a goal down. It would also have put them in the driving seat, with energy levels in reserve and a decent breeze at their backs.

Myler’s free fell short, Westmeath countered, got the goal their play deserved through Pettit, then added an injury time point through Daniel Reid and from the possibility of a three-point deficit, the visitors trailed by 1-10 to 1-2.

How do you compound a mini-disaster? Concede a second goal less than two minutes into the second-half, that’s how.

James Maxwell’s major was a terrible goal to allow, as Westmeath had just a few minutes of a burst after their rest before their legs gave way and their 1-1 in that time proved to be enough. Just.

Wexford’s leggy start saw them fall 0-6 to nil down after eleven minutes, five of those scores coming from Pettit.

Seán Nolan got his side on the scoreboard in the 13th minute and Gavin Sheehan, his side’s best on the evening, added another in the 20th minute to make it 0-8 to 0-2.

There was seven points in it as Westmeath started to slow. Wexford were given a lifeline when Mikie Dwyer’s shot was foot-blocked and Darragh Lyons stepped up to convert from the spot with aplomb.

A potentially relieved dress- ing-room was shattered when Pettit went around Ivan Meegan and floated his shot into the top right corner of the Wexford net in the 30th minute.

That goal was a sharp blow but Maxwell’s was a real dagger just after the break.

The fightback started after Lyons shanked a 39th-minute free with his side trailing by 2-11 to 1-4. The way Myler won that free, with a hopeful long ball that his Wexford side had been losing consistently beforehand, seemed to galvanise the Slaneysiders.

Myler added a dead-ball, Ivan Meegan came up and nailed two, and the lead was down to eight. Things could have changed even more when Dwyer won a second penalty for a foot-block in the 50th minute.

It was probably the worst refereeing decision of the game, as both of the defender’s feet were rooted to the ground when Dwyer’s shot cannoned off his foot, and he made no move towards the ball.

Westmeath would consider it justice that Jordan Nugent saved Lyons’ second spot-kick but it was a desperate blow for Wexford. Still, they kept going and Nolan added a brace of points to close the gap to six.

Jamie Myler was the stand-out Wexford forward, the one that always seemed to find that yard of space, and he pulled two more back to leave it at 2-12 to 1-11 with four minutes left. Westmeath sucked everyone back and defended for their lives.

Myler put a goal in the game three minutes into added-time but they couldn’t fashion the goal chance they needed and Westmeath held on to take a huge win.

With the top two qualifying for the knockouts, this result left Wexford needing to probably beat both Longford (yesterday) and Dublin to advance.

Wexford: Ivan Meegan (0-2, 1 free, 1 ’45); David O’Keeffe, Mark O’Neill, Martin O’Connor; Quinn Saunders, Darragh Lyons (1-1, 1-0 pen., 0-1 free), Gavin Sheehan (0-1); Richie Waters, Ronan Devereux; Jamie Myler (0-4, 2 frees), Mikie Dwyer, Dylan Furlong; Cathal Devereux, Robbie Brooks, Seán Nolan (0-4, 1 free). Subs. - Peter Barry for Waters (31), Kyle Firman for Saunders (31), Frank Roche for O’Keeffe (36), Luke Sinnott for Devereux (48), Sam Wall for Furlong (48), Cathal Walsh for Nolan (60), also Darragh Brooks, John Dunne, Josh Martin.

Westmeath: Jordan Nugent; Ben Treanor, Gareth Carr, Eoghan Bracken; Joe Moran, Eoin Nally, Plunkett Maxwell; Adam Loughlin, John Tumulty (0-3 frees); James Maxwell (1-0), Nigel Harte, Daniel Reid (0-1); Tom Molloy, Seán Pettit (1-7, 0-4 frees), Ben Cox (0-1). Subs. - Brian Kavanagh for Cox (37), Conor Dillon for Reid (51), Conor McCormack for Treanor (58).

Referee: Patrick Maguire (Longford).