Black day for football as Déise win derby
Miserable year ends on lowest of lows for Wexford
A DREADFUL year for the Wexford Senior footballers ended abruptly on the lowest note possible before a small, sun-baked Innovate Wexford Park crowd on Saturday afternoon when they crashed out of the All-Ireland championship race in this round one qualifier derby against Waterford.
Although a late rally yielded 1-3 without reply as the home side pressed hard in the six additional minutes, they had been out-played for long periods earlier and could harbour no complaints regarding the outcome.
They will look back with particular regret all the same on the decision of Meath referee Cormac Reilly to disallow a 63rd-minute goal after consultation with his umpires.
Substitute Barry O’Connor started a move that saw Eoin Porter’s shot from the left turned on to the far post by Waterford netminder Stephen Enright, and Donal Shanley finished the rebound from close range.
However, the top scorer from St. Fintan’s was deemed to have been in the square before the ball, and it was a major turning point in the overall scheme of things.
While Wexford might feel hard done by after that call, the reality is that they allowed a Division 4 team to dictate the game to them from an early stage despite being on their own patch, and this ultimately led to their downfall.
Just to give Waterford’s achievement some context, prior to the game they had the worst qualifiers record in Ireland, a 6% success rate comprising just one win from 16 attempts. That was achieved against London seven years ago, and they had been beaten in every game inside and outside Munster since.
It was no surprise, therefore, to see them celebrate so wildly at the final whistle, and it was also the cause for their late wobble when they looked vulnerable with the finishing line in sight.
One particularly disappointing aspect of the game was Waterford’s superior fitness, as they thundered down the centre at will, led by powerful midfielder Tommy Prendergast.
His partner for the throw-in, Kieran Power, quickly moved to centre-forward and was rampant in the first-half too before running out of gas, while Shane Ryan’s runs from the half-back line posed all manner of problems.
Prendergast’s dominance highlighted the significance of the absence of injured captain Daithí Waters, one of three players unavailable from the Laois loss along with full-back Jim Rossiter and corner-forward Paul Curtis.
Two men who made their full Senior debuts as substitutes in that game - teenage defender Eoin Porter and Cork native David Shannon - started as a result, along with the experienced Tiarnan Rossiter who was also introduced in that Leinster defeat.
It was ominous to note that Waterford kept the ball for more than 90 seconds from the throw-in, a sign of their desire to stamp an early mark on proceedings and take the game to the favourites in this first-ever championship meeting of the neighbours.
And although that early control of the ball wasn’t reflected on the scoreboard for most of the first quarter, there was no denying the superiority of the visitors once they grabbed an equalising goal in the 15th minute.
A converted Jason Curry free was followed by a response from play by Donal Shanley in the ninth minute, with Conor Murray restoring Waterford’s lead before Eoghan Nolan set up Ben Brosnan for another leveller.
Wexford were more economical on scraps of the ball in that early period, and their best player, John Tubritt, used his less favoured right foot to give them the lead for the first time from a Glen Malone pass.
Donal Shanley (free) and Eoghan Nolan stretched the lead to 5-2, but three key Waterford figures combined to cut the Wexford defence to shreds for the first of many times in the 15th minute.
Tommy Prendergast delivered the ball inside to J.J. Hutchinson who picked out the rampaging Shane Ryan, and he blasted the ball past Conor Swaine to give the Munster side a major boost.
Prendergast almost played in Ryan for a second goal after Donal Shanley kicked a 47-metre free, but the play was called back after he missed the target and Jason Curry duly equalised from the placed ball (1-3 to 0-6).
Waterford had realised that their rivals were very vulnerable to strong running at their defence, and they piled on the pressure with further points from Hutchinson, Kieran Power and Prendergast.
Although Brian Malone stopped the rot with a fisted point, Wexford’s problems grew considerably in the 26th minute when wing-back Brian Looby transferred the ball to J.J. Hutchinson after a lung-bursting run, and the number 14 who started in the left corner crashed the ball to the net with a powerful finish (2-6 to 0-7).
Free-taker Curry made it a six-point game before Wexford managed to arrest their decline somewhat before half-time, hitting the last three scores courtesy of a Ben Brosnan brace, plus a Donal Shanley free in between.
Under-20 player Martin O’Connor and Robert Frayne replaced Shane Doyle and David Shannon at the break, with Eoin Porter moving out to right half-back, Eoghan Nolan resuming on the ’40, and Ben Brosnan on the edge of the square.
Waterford kept Wexford waiting on the field before the action resumed, and the hosts squandered several goal chances in the opening ten minutes.
Tiarnan Rossiter and Brosnan had shots blocked in quick succession before a Martin O’Connor handpass to Glen Malone was intercepted, while the same thing happened when substitute Nick Doyle’s first involvement was to put too much weight on a floated ball across the square intended for Tiarnan Rossiter.
Kieran Power and John Tubritt swapped points in that period, and it was a rare miscue by the latter that ultimately ended with the third Waterford goal in the 45th minute.
Brian Looby plucked his high kick from the clouds before finding Tommy Prendergast who ran from deep in his own half without being challenged.
He timed his pass perfectly for substitute Joe Allen who arrived at pace and drilled a low shot into the far corner of Conor Swaine’s net (3-8 to 0-11).
It was Waterford’s game to lose at that stage, especially after Conor Murray increased their advantage to seven before yet another Wexford opportunity was thwarted when Glen Malone’s handpass across goal was too long for Ben Brosnan.
Shanley and Tubritt pulled back points, with Conor Murray shooting low to the left and wide in between at the other end when a handy kick over the bar would have been the better option.
Wexford’s best hope was to get the ball to Tubritt as often as possible because he was really on his game, while substitute Barry O’Connor also made an impact, but they were equally susceptible to being caught on the break whenever an attack broke down.
At the time of that disallowed goal, they were trailing by 3-13 to 0-15, with Shanley (free) and Tubritt adding to their respective tallies but Jason Curry (two frees), Conor Murray and J.J. Hutchinson ensuring that plenty of distance remained between the sides.
A fisted Curry point after a long run proved to be Waterford’s last score, in the 68th minute.
From that stage on, Wexford threw everything at them, encouraged by the announcement of six added minutes.
Shanley stroked over a free before the goal they needed earlier in the half finally arrived.
A Robert Frayne shot was blocked, but Donnacha Holmes kept the move alive and centre-back Naomhan Rossiter continued his knack of rattling the net in the championship with a close-range finish (3-14 to 1-16).
Two more pointed Shanley frees saw the pressure mount further on Waterford, but they were too close to a piece of history at that juncture to throw it all away by conceding a goal.
Stephen Prendergast took a black card for the team, after Gavin Crotty had departed in similar circumstances in the 40th minute, and they gave full vent to their joy after a Wexford player lost possession inside the opposition half on their last attack.
In the course of eleven competitive games this season, Wexford only won twice: against Dublin’s third team in the O’Byrne Cup, and in their last league tie when Armagh had already gained promotion and were trying out fringe players.
If those facts, coupled with this departure at home to a struggling Division 4 side, aren’t enough to prompt a root and branch review of how we conduct our football affairs, then the County Board will be negligent in their duties.
Wexford: Conor Swaine; Michael Furlong (capt.), Eoin Porter, Conor Carty; Shane Doyle, Naomhan Rossiter (1-0), Tiarnan Rossiter; Eoghan Nolan (0-1), Brian Malone (0-1); James Stafford, Ben Brosnan (0-3), Glen Malone; David Shannon, Donal Shanley (0-9, 7 frees), John Tubritt (0-4). Subs. - Martin O’Connor for Doyle (HT), Robert Frayne for Shannon (HT), Nick Doyle for Nolan (42), Barry O’Connor for T. Rossiter (48), Craig McCabe for Brosnan (57), Donnacha Holmes for Stafford (63).
Waterford: Stephen Enright; Adrian Trihy, Stephen Prendergast, James McGrath (capt.); Brian Looby, Michael Curry, Shane Ryan (1-0); Tommy Prendergast (0-1), Kieran Power (02); Gavin Crotty, Dylan Guiry, Conor Murray (0-3); Jack Mullaney, Jason Curry (0-6, 5 frees), J.J. Hutchinson (1-2). Subs. - Joe Allen (1-0) for Crotty, black card (40), Thomas O’Gorman for Power (51), Conor McCarthy for Murray (70+3), Mark Cummins for S. Prendergast, black card (70+5).
Referee: Cormac Reilly (Meath).