U-17s snatch late win

GO AND sit in Tallaght Stadium if you want, or go to Ballybofey and watch Finn Harps, even take the trip west and have a look at Galway.

You can go anywhere you like in Ireland and I promise you, you will not see three better games in the under-age Airtricity League than the ones Wexford and Waterford have contested at Under-17 level this season.

The first contained the most unlikely comeback, the second in the cup saw ten men hang on with their backs against the wall, and on this occasion, three goals in the dying minutes made for a roller-coaster ride for fans and players alike.

However, the crucial part of each game was the eventual winners, and it was Wexford who made it three from three with another win over local rivals Waterford in the SSE Airtricity League Under-17 Southern Elite Division in Ferrycarrig Park on Saturday.

In what proved to be an enthralling encounter, Waterford stormed out of the blocks as they wished to avenge their two previous losses this season.

They probably should have been ahead by the 20th minute as Alex Phelan, Kyle Cuddy and Cian Foley were all denied by Seán Maher before Phelan side-foot- ed against the post as Wexford struggled to withstand the early ambush.

The home side did find a foothold and as their passing quality improved they began to create chances.

Dylan Whelan headed over the bar before Darragh Levingston shot straight at the goalkeeper from 20 yards.

Seán Smithers was also growing into the game and he earned Wexford a golden opportunity to take the lead as he turned Greg Waters and was hacked down in the penalty area.

Levingston stepped up and confidently found the bottom left corner.

Phelan was denied by Maher again before the break and his magnificent double save after the re-start ensured Wexford hung onto their lead for a while longer.

However, a goal was coming and Cian Browne capitalised on James Dowling’s poor clearance to place through Maher’s legs and level the game on the 70-minute mark.

Wexford switched to a 3-5-2 shortly after the equaliser and the game opened up and finished with a cracking final 15 minutes.

Shane Gibson prevented a certain goal with a crucial goal-line challenge before Ethan O’Neill fed substitute Brian Byrne who really should have done better in a oneon-one with Noel Heffernan.

With the game dangling in the balance, the introduction of exBlue Robert Bulmer swung the tie in Wexford’s favour.

His pristine ball sent Smithers racing away into the box, and he found Byrne who fired into the net in the 89th minute.

However, the drama was just beginning and Waterford, almost immediately, levelled it up again. A long ball over the top beat Levingston and Brendan Kirwan made no mistake as he finished past Maher.

There was time for one final swing. Smithers fed Byrne after Dowling’s volley was blocked, and the Carlow boy side-footed through Heffernan’s legs as Wexford stole all three points deep into injury time.

Wexford F.C.: Seán Maher; Killian Griffin, Dylan Whelan, Danny Bruce, Shane Gibson; Caellum Travers-Devlin, Luke Greene, Ethan O’Neill, Brody Murphy, Seán Smithers; Darragh Levingston. Subs. - Graham O’Reilly for Travers-Devlin (46), Brian Byrne for Greene (60), James Dowling for Murphy (65), Seán O’Brien-Murphy for Griffin (77), Robert Bulmer for O’Neill (87), also Aaron Hall, Killian Flynn.

Waterford F.C.: Noel Heffernan; Leven Sarafin, Sam Dwyer, Reece Murphy, Greg Waters; Niall O’Keeffe, Cian Foley, Kyle Cuddy, Seán Tracey, Tega Agberhiere; Alex Phelan. Subs. - Cian Browne for Dwyer (46), Sam Morrisey for O’Keeffe (57), Ethan Flynn for Murphy (65), Scott Delahunty for Phelan (75), Brendan Kirwan for Browne (88).

Referee: Derek Campion (Wexford).