Hurlers hit record haul
Dismal Down massacred in league meeting
THEY MIGHTN’T have realised it at the time, but the 807 spectators in sunny Wexford Park on Sunday, March 27, 2005, were witnessing history in the making.
Wexford chose the 404th game since they began National Hurling League activity in February, 1926, to chalk up their highest-ever score and largest winning margin against a woefully inept Down team in a Division 1B mis-match.
The magnificent tally of 9-24 (51) was ten points more impressive than the previous best of 11-8 (41), registered against Laois in Portlaoise on March 30, 1969, when the home team could only muster 2-1.
And with Down managing 2-4 on this occasion, the 41-point difference between the sides was seven better than that previous high which was achieved in that same game, almost 36 years earlier to the very day.
Manager Seamus Murphy was correct afterwards when he said that Down did the worst thing possible from their own point of view by scoring a surprise early goal through centre-forward Gareth ‘Magic’ Johnson.
It triggered a response of staggering proportions as Wexford upped the stakes with ease and picked off a string of impressive scores to humiliate their thoroughly outclassed rivals.
‘Mitch’ Jordan had received a presentation from Seán Quirke, County Chairman, before the game to mark his one hundredth appearance with the Seniors, and he grabbed the first of those nine goals after making an easy catch from a pinpoint cross by the unstoppable Nigel Higgins.
That made it 1-8 to 1-0 and, after Des Mythen and Martin Coulter (free) swapped points, Wexford then added 2-7 without reply in a mere eleven minutes.
Eoin Quigley’s first goal in a county Senior jersey arrived in the 22nd minute, from a ground stroke after a clever M.J. Furlong handpass into space.
Higgins then collected a Mythen cross, put his head down and beat two defenders before firing the ball to the net from close range in trademark fashion.
It was 3-18 to 1-2 at half-time, and the floodgates remained well and truly open on the re-start.
The first three scores in the opening 13 minutes when the action resumed were all goals – two for Wexford, from Barry Lambert and Rory Jacob, with Martin Coulter netting in between for Down after initially crashing a free off the crossbar.
Team captain Michael Jacob, younger brother Rory, Nigel Higgins and crowd favourite Chris McGrath added goals number six, seven, eight and nine on a day when Bannow-Ballymitty and U.C.D. netminder Matty White played his first league game, while Niall Maguire of Ferns St. Aidan’s made his Senior inter-county debut.
That highest score of 9-24 (51) lasted until January 7, 2018, when Wexford registered 6-36 (54) in a Walsh Cup win over Wicklow, who responded with 1-12, in Ashford.
Down shipped another hammering to the Slaneysiders two years later, in 2007, but on that occasion it was ‘only’ by 31 points (3-31 to 0-6) when they returned to Wexford Park.
Wexford: Matty White; Malachy Travers, Declan Ruth, Keith Rossiter; Rory McCarthy, Darren Stanp, Diarmuid Lyng (0-2); M.J. Furlong (0-1), Michael Jacob (capt., 1-1); Barry Lambert (1-5, 0-3 frees), Willie Doran (0-2), Eoin Quigley (1-1); Nigel Higgins (2-4), Micheál Jordan (11), Des Mythen (0-4). Subs. - Niall Maguire for McCarthy, Chris McGrath (1-0) for Doran, Rory Jacob (2-2) for Mythen, David O’Brien (0-1) for Jordan, Kevin Kavanagh for M. Jacob.