Footballers had to battle very hard to shake off London

EVEN THOUGH the main target this year of promotion was achieved, Wexford footballers were brought back down to earth slightly last Sunday when they were tested by a well-organised London team.

The visitors have the burden of a major disadvantage this year as they have to play all their games away from home due to redevelopment work at Ruislip, but that hasn’t affected the enthusiasm or commitment of the squad.

Any sports fan would have to admire the dedication of the London players and management when you consider the logistics involved in training and then travelling to play matches.

They certainly don’t operate at the glamorous end of the G.A.A. spectrum but they should be held in high regard for their devotion to Gaelic games.

A gale-force wind blowing towards the town goal again dominated the game and ruined it as a spectacle.

Wexford played against the elements first and it was definitely their worst 35 minutes of the year so far.

A combination of a well-organised visitors’ defence and some poor play saw several attacks break down and possession lost to the opposition.

London were causing problems in attack, and a black card for Brian Malone with ten minutes left in the first-half didn’t help the defensive organisation.

Rory Mason was a constant threat for London and looked a class player, scoring six points of his team’s total tally of nine.

A 0-7 to 0-4 half-time lead did not flatter the London side and Wexford supporters were left scratching their heads at the first-half performance.

I can imagine there were some choice words in the dressing-room at half-time, and things did improve immediately at the start of the second-half.

A couple of quick points settled the nerves a bit, but with 20 minutes gone Wexford were still only one point ahead.

A strong finish saw Wexford run out deserved winners but they won’t be happy with the performance.

Ben Brosnan was the top performer on the day, scoring eleven points, with four coming from play.

While every player’s workrate cannot be faulted, poor decision-making and too many mistakes added to the frustration of the mentors and supporters.

On the positive side, Ronan Devereux and Conor Swaine started for the first time at this level, while Naomhan Rossiter, Donal Shanley, Michael O’Regan, P.J. Banville and Niall Hughes got more game time, and an added bonus was the return of Adrian Flynn to the county colours.

All of these players add to the quality in the squad and more importantly the competition for places.

This weekend they face their toughest test so far this year to date when they take on Westmeath as part of a double-header with the hurlers.

This will be a good assessment of the progress the team has made this year, as Westmeath are favourites to win the division and have been Leinster finalists for the past two years.

Led in attack by one of the finest footballers in the country, John Heslin, the Lake county men are always extremely difficult to beat and have been operating at a different level to Wexford for the last few years.

With promotion achieved already, I would hope the team goes out to show the Wexford public that they can play good football and are improving rapidly.

It will be a chance to earn the respect of the home support as they will be playing in front of a larger crowd than normal.

They have worked hard to get to the top of the table and hopefully the winning streak will continue.