Fine U-17 win in cup derby
Ten men upset Waterford
Yet, despite looking relatively comfortable in the 20 minutes after half-time, Waterford were given a lifeline.
It started with Seán O’Brien-Murphy’s second yellow card. It was awarded when a melee ensued after a strong Caellum Devlin-Travers tackle on the edge of the box, but there was no contact from O’Brien-Murphy on an opposition player which would warrant such a punishment.
Moments later referee Brian Fenlon was pointing towards the spot. Kyle Scallan’s miscontrolled touch with his chest had popped down and struck his arm. Niall O’Keeffe then sent Seán Maher the wrong way and Waterford were back in it.
The Ferrycarrig boys, now a man light and defending deep in their own half, were forced into a change as they switched to a 5-3-1.
They defended heroically, with midfielders Travers-Devlin, Ethan O’Neill and Bulmer running themselves to exhaustion and the back five clearing all which came their way.
Caelin Rooney’s volley onto the top of the crossbar was as close as Waterford went before he received two yellow cards and his marching orders.
Wexford have been drawn away to Cabinteely in the quarter-final and having already drawn in Dublin against their league counterparts, they will feel that this is a game which they are more than capable of winning.
Wexford F.C.: Seán Maher; Seán O’Brien-Murphy, Kyle Scallan (capt.), Kevin Murphy, Killian Griffin; Dylan Whelan, Graham O’Reilly, Ethan O’Neill, Robert Bulmer, Seán Smithers; Brody Murphy. Subs. - Caellum Devlin-Travers for Whelan (51), Daniel Bruce for O’Reilly (68), Brian Byrne for Murphy (90), also Aaron Hall, Darragh Levingston, Killian Flynn, Shane Gibson.
Waterford F.C.: Brendan Kirwan; Leven Sarafin, Tega Agberhiere, Reece Murphy, Torik Adegoke; Ethan Flynn, Greg Waters (capt.), Cian Foley, Alex Phelan; Seán Tracey, Caelin Rooney. Subs. - Sam Dwyer for Agberhiere (34), Charlie Heffernan for Kirwan (46), Niall O’Keeffe for Adegoke (46), Mike Nzongong for Phelan (57), also Cian Browne.
Referee: Brian Fenlon (Wexford). A TIDY Galway United outfit sent visitors Wexford crashing to their second consecutive defeat in the SSE Airtricity Under-15 League Group 3 at Castle Park on Saturday.
Both of these sides had been in good form coming into last weekend.
However, Wexford were well beaten by Cork and Galway were crunched by Limerick, meaning both had a point to prove when they squared-off.
The hosts, with two first-half goals from Liam Melody and a second period clincher from Conal Gallagher, nabbed all three points and returned to winning ways. Unfortunately, the hosts were helped by a poor enough Wexford performance.
The Ferrycarrig Park side had a good morale-boosting friendly win against Kilbarrack Under-16s during the week and they actually started off pretty well in the first 15 minutes, using their physical superiority to their advantage.
However, the game turned from a set-piece corner that an unmarked Melody headed into the net at the midpoint of the half, and from there things went downhill.
It was two before the break when Melody’s shot took a deflection and left Aaron Phelan with no chance.
Seán Fitzpatrick had a good opportunity to pull a goal back in the second-half but it was Galway who found the net again after the break. The goal came from another corner, with Conal Gallagher applying the finishing touch this time.
It was a tough day all around for Mark Doran’s side. However, there were a few bright spots, as three lads who remain under-age next season, Conor Carew, Seán Fitzpatrick and Harry Curtis, all put in strong performances.
Wexford now have back-toback home games against Limerick (Sunday, Ramstown, 2 p.m.) and Kerry before they finish out the first phase at Cobh.
Realistically two wins in their final three games should be enough to secure a top four finish.
Wexford F.C.: Aaron Phelan; James Cullen, Darragh McGuire, Seán Redmond, Dylan Casey, Liam Doyle, Evan Farrell (capt.), Tyler Dunphy, Paddy Redmond, Evan Connolly, Dylan McEvoy. Subs. (rolling) - Seán Adam Gourley, Harry Curtis, Seán Fitzpatrick, Conor Carew, Rian Fitzpatrick, Luke Murphy.