Many reasons for being at our lowest point in a long time

LAST SATURDAY Wexford Senior footballers ended their difficult season with a disappointing loss to south-east neighbours Waterford. In some ways the result was a shock, but when you look at recent results you can see that we are in a very low position in the football pecking order, so a victory over any opposition cannot be taken for granted.

It was obvious from the start that Waterford had targeted this game as an opportunity to improve on their dismal record of having only one victory in the qualifiers since they began.

They were well aware of the retirements and defections, but crucially the injuries that had denied Wexford the services of two of our most influential players, Jim Rossiter and Daithí Waters.

From the outset the Déise men seemed well up to the challenge and, although Wexford were ahead by three points after 14 minutes, they never looked comfortably in control.

Waterford midfielder Tommy Prendergast was the dominant player and Wexford could not get to grips with his fielding and surging runs.

Centre-back Shane Ryan was also a constant threat and raised the first green flag for his team with a calm finish after yet another foray up to the forward line.

For long periods Wexford were very vulnerable as their opponents created numerous overlaps through the centre, leading to goalscoring chances.

Unfortunately for Wexford, they converted three of these chances, including one brilliant goal from J.J. Hutchinson.

Waterford were the superior team in the first-half, and Wexford were fortunate to be only three points down at half-time.

The second-half was again dominated by Waterford, and they were ahead by eight points at one stage.

To give credit to the Wexford team, they kept trying and put in a spirited finish in a frantic last few minutes.

Unfortunately, they ran out of time as Waterford held on to record their first championship win in seven years.

Where do we go from here? Wexford football is at the lowest point it has been in years, but there are many reasons for our demise.

How many other counties with such a small pool of players could cope with the losses as previously mentioned?

We have lost a large number of quality experienced players over a short period of time.

Our lack of success at under-age is not helping the situation either, as success breeds a desire to play for the county.

Our Under-20 team was our one hope of progress this year, but now their chances have been diminished by the loss of three more players due to a stupid eligibility rule introduced this year.

There are a lot of hard-working people investing time in to football development, but it is not bearing fruit at the moment.

IN THE DOLDRUMS

Wexford football is in the doldrums at present but we have been there before.

The calls will come again to make us a one sport county only at inter-county level, but that won’t guarantee success.

Sport is about participation and now Wexford footballers will be competing in Division 4, a level that will suit us for a couple of years.

People need to persevere and keep developing players at club level who want to improve and test themselves at a higher level.

It’s been an unsatisfactory year for football and the early exit last Saturday was not anticipated.

However, even though a victory would have been welcome, it would only have masked over the problems for a short time.

Waterford have drawn Monaghan in the next round, and we all remember how they performed in Wexford at the same stage last year.

Although a defeat is always disappointing, sometimes it’s not always the worst outcome.