Terrible start puts pressure on for a win versus Antrim

LAST SUNDAY was a terrible day for Wexford footballers as they were on the receiving end of a 13-point hammering from Leitrim. From a position of playing well and leading by a point at the break, they collapsed and conceded 3-9 in the second-half while scoring just four points in reply.

It’s a bad start to this year’s league campaign in a game that the management would have been targeting to try to claim some invaluable points away from home.

Some positives to be taken will include the performance of Jonathan Bealin and his eight-point tally, the blooding of some new talent at inter-county level, and the return of some of our more experienced campaigners.

Already next Sunday’s home fixture takes on the label as a crucial one to win, even at this early stage of the season.

The task this week for management is to erase the result from the memory and focus on the performance at home against Antrim in front of their own supporters.

Antrim will be no pushover and were unlucky to lose out to Derry by the minimum on Sunday, so yet again there will be no easy games in this division.

Limerick scraped a one-point win in London, so that proves no opposing team can be taken for granted in this campaign.

Two changes by the G.A.A. hierarchy made the main headlines last week. Firstly, the controversial new rules were altered with the removal of the handpass limitation.

It was proving a nightmare for players, coaches and referees to adapt their game to, but really it wasn’t given enough time to have any impact.

The whole country is screaming out for a change to curb the use of the scourge of the modern game, but Central Council decided to totally scrap the trial.

Okay, it hasn’t been popular, but why did the G.A.A. not introduce a modified handpass rule while the desire for change is still prevalent?

The other change to upset punters was the €5 hike in entrance fees to games in the higher divisions.

It’s a big increase and makes an away trip a costly exercise for a family with over 16s, but as usual with the Irish psyche we will complain to each other but won’t do anything constructive to change it.

If Gaelic games continue to be exciting and entertaining there won’t be a problem, but on a cold winter’s day and the prospect of a defensive boring match, some fans might be tempted to sit by the fire and tune in to local radio, Twitter and TG4 to keep them entertained. And, of course, keep their hard-earned cash in their pockets.

Last Saturday I made the short journey to Rathangan church to say a sad farewell to our former team-mate, Scott Doran.

It was a fitting tribute to the talented Kilmore star to see so many former players, selectors and officials from county teams he played on, and also from the local teams he played G.A.A. and soccer with and against.

I remember when Scott came on to the Wexford panel as a young naive footballer, and it only took one training session to show us the talent he had.

He struck up a friendship with everyone and I often marvelled at the things he could do with a football.

His quick decision-making, skill, vision, outrageous speed off the mark and finishing prowess made him the fantastic player he was.

He was shy off the field but on the pitch he transformed into a confident athlete who knew he had the talent to take on anyone.

He feared no opponent, not in a disrespectful way but in a way that honoured the talent he was given.

He was truly one of the greatest and wore the Wexford jersey with honour and distinction on an incredible 105 occasions.

I was one of the lucky ones that shared some of those special days with him and will always remember what a talent he was. May he rest in peace.