They’ll move EVAN & earth

WEXFORD REELING AFTER ANTRIM DEFEAT AND NILAND SAYS MODELMEN WILL BE ......... OUT FOR TRIBE’S BLOOD

EVAN NILAND has warned that Wexford will be gunning for Galway next weekend.

Niland’s Galway are coming off the back of a draw with Kilkenny at Salthill over the weekend, while Wexford suffered a shock defeat to Antrim at Corrigan Park.

With just one point from two games, after Dublin hit them for two late goals to grab a draw, Wexford have to win on their own patch to stay in the hunt for a top three place, which would secure All-ireland hurling.

It’s still odds on that Galway and Kilkenny will meet in the Leinster final for the third season in a row and the fourth time in five years.

But Niland doesn’t see it as inevitable: “Well, we certainly don’t feel that way,” he said. “Nothing is a given in this Leinster Championship.

“We saw what Antrim did and we know that Wexford are going to have a serious say again next week and they’ll be gunning for us.”

Galway trailed by four points to Kilkenny on the hour mark but won the final 15 minutes by 0-6 to 0-2, but Niland never felt the game was gone from them.

“To be honest, no,” said the Clarinbridge club man. “We felt we were in a position to win that game and they obviously got the goal.

“So hurling, and especially when it’s Kilkenny, it goes up and down very quickly so you have to stay in the moment and stay in the game. We came back, but we’d be disappointed not to get the win.”

Niland continued: “I suppose we were lucky to get the draw and happy to get the draw with the way the game was going.

“We were two points down with a minute to go. We showed good grit from the lads to get the scores.

“Conor [Whelan] got that one to level it and we got that free to get us back within one.

“I suppose when you look at it, Kilkenny were missing top players (Eoin Murphy, Eoin Cody and Adrian Mullen) so we are going to have to improve again going forward, none more so than going to Wexford Park.”

One big plus for Galway was getting New York-based Johnny Glynn back on the field at full forward for the final 17 minutes and the unsettling presence he was for Kilkenny, as he saw a 67th minute goal effort saved by Aidan Tallis

“He’s a handful isn’t he?,” said Niland. “He’s great to have around the place as an individual.

“His personality is huge and that probably goes unseen.

“Some of the players you don’t even know what they are like, you just see them playing.

“He’s a great team player and he’ll only get better as the year goes on hopefully.”