Winning in the rain!
SCENES OF unbridled joy greeted the final whistle at a rain-soaked O’Moore Park in Portlaoise on April 17, 2005, after an injury-time point from David Fogarty saw the Wexford Senior footballers edge out Tyrone by 1-8 to 1-7 to claim a place in their first National League Division 1 decider since 1946.
I wasn’t there myself, owing to a family bereavement, but the words of reporter Conor Cullen summed up the sheer magnitude of this unexpected but very welcome outcome:
‘If there was any lingering doubts about this side’s ability to hold their own against the country’s elite, they were well and truly dispelled by this outstanding display, which combined sheer hard graft with enterprising football, and was backboned by strict discipline and unwavering self-belief.
‘The stamp of manager Pat Roe was all over this Wexford team, who have been displaying a much greater fortitude under pressure in recent games than has previously been in evidence, and now seem to have coupled the necessary mental strength required for this level with their undoubted talent,’ he wrote.
The victory came at the same venue where Wexford had lost the Division 2 semi-final of 2003 to Limerick and then, twelve months later, went down to a Laois side with nothing tangible to play for and missed out on a Division 1 penultimate round place as a result.
Those memories seemed a million miles away, though, as the Slaneysiders announced their arrival as true contenders for major honours with a display based on pure grit.
The driving rain, terrible underfoot conditions, and very strong breeze ensured it was never going to be a classic encounter.
Conventional wisdom suggested that the type of day would suit Tyrone’s robust style, whereas
Wexford’s fluent passing game would get bogged down in the mud.
However, the victors did to their Ulster rivals what they had done so often to others – closing down all avenues to attack, being disciplined in the tackle, and fighting hard for every single ball.
The full-back line once again led by example, and Colm Morris, Philip Wallace and Niall Murphy were exceptional all afternoon.
David Murphy dominated at centre-back, while Shane Cullen and Darragh Breen got through a mountain of work on the flanks. Indeed, the effectiveness of the defence was illustrated by the fact that only the excellent Martin Penrose scored from play for Tyrone.
A rare mistake by John Cooper had let the corner-forward in for a goal in the seventh minute, but Wexford took the setback in their stride and hit back quickly when Matty Forde finished a fine move in his customary clinical fashion.
However, seven first-half wides to Tyrone’s two meant that they were unable to pull away from their dogged opponents, with Forde (two) and John Hegarty exchanging points with Penrose (two) to leave it 1-4 to 1-3 at the break.
That slender lead was wiped out by two quick points from Mickey Harte’s side on the re-start, but a magnificent Diarmuid Kinsella effort restored parity.
The rain poured down even harder and the exchanges got even more frantic as the second-half progressed, but Tyrone were being pushed down blind alleys by the Wexford defence, and only a few tired fouls allowed the Ulster men to push narrowly ahead.
However, they were quickly pegged back by Redmond Barry, and Wexford then regained the initiative through Paddy Colfer as the team refused to buckle, despite facing into the strong breeze.
The last ten minutes were utterly dominated by the underdogs, who were boosted by the introduction of Jim D’Arcy, as wave after wave of purple and gold poured forward in search of the winning score.
When Tyrone equalised against the run of play from a Mark Harte free, it looked as if the chance would be lost, but again they came forward, with Matty Forde finding Darren Foran, who placed David Fogarty in front of goal.
As nearly 5,000 spectators teetered on the edge of their seats, Fogarty showed remarkable composure to drop the shoulder, step inside Brian Dooher, and kick Wexford into dreamland.
Wexford: John Cooper; Colm Morris, Philip Wallace, Niall Murphy; Darragh Breen, David Murphy, Shane Cullen; Diarmuid Kinsella (0-1), Nicky Lambert; David Fogarty (0-1), Paddy Colfer (0-1), John Hegarty (0-1); Redmond Barry (0-1), John Hudson (capt.), Matty Forde (1-3, 0-3 frees). Subs. - Jim D’Arcy for Lambert, Pat Forde for Hegarty, Darren Foran for Hudson, Robert Mageean for Breen (yellow card).
Tyrone: Pascal McConnell; Conor Gormley, Chris Lawn, Shane Sweeney; Ryan McMenamin, Gavin Devlin, Philip Jordan; Colin Holmes, Seán Cavanagh; Brian Dooher, Ryan Mellon (0-2 frees), Enda McGinley; Michael Coleman, Brian Meenan, Martin Penrose (1-4, 0-1 free). Subs. - John Devine for McConnell, inj., Mark Harte (0-1 free) for Meenan (yellow card), Peter Donnelly for Coleman.
Referee: John Geaney (Cork).