Dismal day by the Lee, but Wexford men will rise again

INORMALLY love Wexford championship days but in honesty something about Saturday didn’t fit as the norm. As far back as Monday I had questioned the wisdom (and fairness) of an enforced journey deep into Munster soil to play southern opposition for the fourth time in a row.

A 3 p.m. throw-in didn’t help the situation on a day when many work, and the 10,255 present (much lower than some of the round robin attendances) certainly confirmed my belief that there was a mistake made in time and location.

The stadium itself is breathtaking but when sparsely populated as was the case last Saturday it created a surreal environment lacking atmosphere which possibly contributed to our flatness on the day.

We never fully ignited and I must admit the only smile of the day came to my face when I met a great Clare man now resident in Glynn-Barntown, Noel McCarthy, after the match.

Noel, looking, as ever, resplendent in his retro much-worn Clare jersey, had sought to congratulate his heroes on the hallowed turf after the game.

He was quickly removed by officials who didn’t end their journey until the domiciled Wexford man was out of the ground and told not to come back. Though I felt the Cork officialdom was over protective of their hallowed ground, we both saw the funny side of Noel’s eviction.

I felt going into the game that it was important to start well, just to test Clare’s mental resolve, but once Gerry O’Connor’s men weathered our early leads, the half belonged to the Banner side who were full value for the seven-point interval lead.

We were guilty of wastefulness in the opening period but in honesty, led by the accuracy and strong running of Tony Kelly, Clare were very comfortable in their domination.

Shaun Murphy as is normal sat deep but it afforded David McInerney and Patrick O’Connor the freedom to always have an extra hand when Wexford attacked.

When we situated Lee Chin and the excellent Conor McDonald close to the opposition posts near the end it showed a vulnerability and nervousness in the Banner defence and, despite not performing at our capable levels, we created a number of excellent goal-scoring chances, one of which was excellently executed by the Gorey man.

Clare’s answer to our set-up was to withdraw their two wing-forwards to create room and use angled deliveries to Conlon and Shane O’Donnell.

Given that bit of extra time afforded to their defenders, it eliminated our extra man and worked very well.

We can talk about systems and tactics all day however, but the real summation is that Clare’s hurling was of a superior nature almost all afternoon and our normal movement, touch and passing accuracy just wasn’t at the standard that we produced in the first-half against Kilkenny for example. In hurling the better team generally comes through and this was the case on Saturday.

Rarely have I seen a better and more honest man-to-man battle than the clash of Liam Ryan and John Conlon. Both men are at the height of their powers and there was an honesty and ferocity to their exchanges that was heartening to witness.

Given the precise delivery of the ball to the Clare man and the semi-isolation young Ryan found himself in at times, I feel the Wexford number three shaded the battle and an All Star nomination (maybe more) is the very least the Enniscorthy man deserves come the off-season.

Rory O’Connor saw red with time almost up and I would just like to make a general observation on this. I did not see the incident or a replay so I can’t comment on the merit of the decision.

When two players have an altercation based on provocation and retaliation, both offences should be dealt with. This isn’t always the case.

Wexford will rise again and thanks to all involved for your fantastic efforts. Up Wexford.