No need for panic as players have come a long way

YOU CAN expect it when Wexford hurling is on a roll. The backdrop to last Sunday’s Allianz League semi-final had Nowlan Park buzzing as thousands of Model county supporters packed into the compact Nowlan Park ground, making up the majority of the 19,000-plus supporters.

The fans began packing into the ground more than an hour before throw-in, with the entrance gates opening some two hours before the starting time.

It was a game which held huge significance for Wexford, having just gained a return ticket to Division 1A, while just two weeks earlier they had beaten Kilkenny for the first time in 60 years at this very venue. Many felt that win was the launch of Wexford’s hurling revival.

The Wexford spirit had been stirred. Davy Fitzgerald’s team may be some way yet from winning an All-Ireland, but there’s a feeling in the county that the players are on a positive journey.

The great atmosphere led to a great occasion, and when it came down to the hard business, Wexford stood up to the reigning All-Ireland champions for more than 60 minutes.

But the ruthless finishing of the Premier county saw them eventually pull clear in the closing ten minutes as the Wexford gameplan unravelled as they went in search of winning scores, being just two points adrift at that stage.

It was a day of learning for this young Wexford side against one of the most formidable outfits in the country. It was another day when Wexford enjoyed being part of what the big time is really about.

When Davy, his backroom and squad re-group in preparation for the championship, that closing ten minutes will not make for easy viewing as they set about remedying what went wrong.

Sometimes a few home truths are needed to wipe the slate clean, but Davy is confident there will be no repetition and the players can still go on and become a serious force within the next year or two.

There is only so much that coaches can do. They put systems in place and trust the players to implement the gameplan. The players have to drive the standards, and this they managed to achieve for some 60 minutes.

They may now be deflated with the eventual outcome, and conceding so many scores during that closing ten-minute spell. It will have infuriated Davy and his coaches that they deviated from the gameplan, but they will also have learned so much that we can expect the more senior players to drive the side on come championship.

There were massive psychological battles in this game. We had weathered that early Tipperary storm. Then came a defining moment when the referee failed to penalise a clear foul on James Breen that led to Tipperary’s second goal.

For me that was a crucial moment in the game. It helped a Tipperary side, which was beginning to find the intensity of the Wexford challenge difficult to cope with, to settle, giving them a four-point interval lead instead of the minimum. That helped Tipperary to keep a margin between the sides, and when something like this happens it can have a crucial influence on a game.

I agree with Davy that what happened in that closing ten minutes is fixable and will not be repeated. We can still put ourselves in a position to have a positive say in the destination of the Leinster championship. There is no need for panic buttons as the side showed great spirit, and showed they have come a long way inside five months. This is a team for the future.

On a more negative note, the sting of the Minors’ defeat to Kilkenny has been felt. It was a disappointing display to say the least, but it’s an example of the importance of under-age coaching being taken to another level.

What was witnessed in Nowlan Park on Saturday afternoon makes it all the more difficult to understand the axing of the Under-14 Academy until after the All-Ireland Féile at the end of June. The most striking thing to emerge is that the Academy needs to be stepped up, and expert coaches provided, with no lessening of the coaching purse strings.

The Academy represents the future of Wexford hurling and should be progressed and not frozen, even for any limited period during the best hurling months of the year. Perhaps Coaching Officer Bobby Goff has an explanation to provide to the young hurlers of the future and their parents.