We can relax for a change ahead of Sunday’s games

INE GAMES, nine wins, and both Senior inter-county teams promoted to higher divisions of the Allianz League with games to spare. It doesn’t get much better than that to be fair when it comes to promising and productive starts to a new season.

Many sceptical onlookers raised their eyebrows and wondered if former Co. Chairman Diarmuid Devereux was off his rocker when he went after two high-profile men from outside our own province for the Senior managerial posts, but the results to date ensure his vision and ambition have already reaped rich rewards.

And now we can all relax ahead of Sunday’s double-header in Innovate Wexford Park, and hopefully the supporters will be there in their droves to assist in the efforts to keep these welcome winning runs going.

The games would obviously be more attractive if there was something tangible at stake, but I’d settle for the current situation any day of the week.

And Westmeath still need one point from their last two games to ensure they will finally shake off Carlow, the only other team still not mathematically out of the running.

That means they will have everything to play for, while our own crew will hopefully be intent on laying down a marker ahead of a likely second meeting in Croke Park on April 8.

I’d certainly prefer that approach to be taken rather than indulging in shadow boxing and holding anything back. When a team is on a winning run like this, momentum means everything, so the more victories the better it will be long-term as far as I’m concerned.

What a boost it will be for the younger squad members in particular to enjoy an outing in headquarters with the championship approaching fast.

It will be a one-off clash with a trophy at stake, but more importantly we are promoted regardless of the outcome. And to be in that position with two rounds still to play is deserving of the highest praise, even though the display against London wasn’t entirely convincing.

I would make two points on that: firstly, our old friend and fellow countyman Ciarán Deely should be praised for the wonderful job he has done since we last saw him at his former stomping ground just over twelve months ago when 23 points separated the teams.

And secondly, at the risk of repeating myself, I’d much rather win a tight game after fighting all the way rather than coasting to a cricket-score victory and learning nothing about the character of my players in the process.

In other news, a lot of former hurlers with strong Wexford connections will have rejoiced in Cuala’s landmark All-Ireland Club success on St. Patrick’s Day.

I have dug out the match programme from the official re-opening of their Hyde Park home in Dalkey on December 10, 1989, when Wexford beat Dublin in a Senior hurling challenge with the help of goals from Roy Coleman and Seán Flood.

That was an exciting time for Cuala as, a mere three weeks earlier, they had dethroned reigning All-Ireland champions Buffers Alley with a 4-6 to 0-11 replay win in the Leinster semi-final in Carlow after a 1-10 to 0-13 draw.

They had beaten St. Vincent’s to capture a first-ever Dublin crown with a team which featured two ex-Rapparees in Colm O’Leary (now St. Martin’s) and future Wexford Senior selector Murty Dempsey, as well as 1968 All-Ireland medal winner Dave Bernie from Ferns and Clongeen’s Edno Murphy.

Another key man on that side was Graiguenamanagh native Mick Morrissey who has since settled in Piercestown and is the current St. Martin’s Chairman.

Two more Enniscorthy natives, John Sullivan and Paul Nolan, had joined the playing ranks when they won a second county title at Craobh Chiaráin’s expense in 1991, and a third was added against Crumlin in 1994.

The contributions made off the field by two more proud sons of Enniscorthy, Mick Dempsey and Matt Browne, shouldn’t be forgotten either. I’m sure all of the men named above were brimming with pride last Friday afternoon and with good reason. PRE-MATCH favourites Wexford secured promotion to Division 3 of the Allianz Football League in Innovate Wexford Park on Sunday, but not in the manner that many had expected or predicted as Ciarán Deely’s well-prepared London side made them work immensely hard for a fifth successive victory.

The visitors led by 0-7 to 0-4 at half-time after playing with the wind, and they were only in arrears by the minimum (9-8) when Liam Gavaghan fired over their first of just two scores after the interval with 20 minutes left.

It had been a major struggle for Wexford up to that point, and it took the intervention of ace marksman Ben Brosnan to finally get them over the line.

The centre-forward may be in the midst of transfer turmoil off the field as his bid to join Castletown from Bannow-Ballymitty has been rejected, but it certainly didn’t show as he accounted for eleven points in total.

And although he departed the scene on a second yellow card deep into added time, the outcome was in the bag by that stage after he picked off four points without reply between the 55th and 64th minutes to widen Wexford’s lead to 0-13 to 0-8 and finally give them the breathing space they had sought for so long.

There’s a relatively short and recent history between the Slaneysiders and London in terms of competitive fixtures, and this was the best-ever showing by the exiles in their head-to-heads without a shadow of a doubt.

The green and whites were a completely different side to the one which fell meekly to a 4-20 to 1-6 hammering at the same venue in February of last year. That large margin had closely resembled the outcome of their sole championship clash in Ruislip in 2010, a 4-22 to 0-9 cruise in the qualifiers for Wexford when Horeswood clubman Deely made an appearance for his native county off the bench.

And while the ambitious young manager, and kitman Phil Roche, a proud son of Glynn-Barntown, didn’t get to savour a London victory this time around, they did have the satisfaction of witnessing a wholehearted display that earned the admiration of many onlookers.

Indeed, given the major prize at stake for Wexford (promotion and a league final place in Croke Park), their opponents deserve tremendous credit for making them work so hard before Seamus McEnaney’s side stumbled rather than cruised over the line.

The home side were forced into a late change between the posts as Shane Roche was injured in the warm-up, with Conor Swaine replacing him and making his league debut.

London started with one alteration to the announced team too, with John Daly coming in on the edge of the square and Liam Gavaghan moving out to left half-forward, while