Big Daithí does the business to give footballers a boost

THERE’S A lot of truth in the old adage that ‘experience counts’. Here in Innovate Wexford Park we saw first hand how it works, as it was a case of power erupting after the introduction of Daithí Waters.

Wexford had been struggling through the opening 35 minutes of their Allianz Football League Division 4 game with Antrim.

Level at 0-5 each having played with the stiff breeze, manager Paul McLoughlin decided it was time to release the St. Martin’s clubman for only his second piece of action this season, having also been introduced as a substitute in the heavy defeat to Leitrim.

Wexford were facing a second successive defeat which would have left their promotion hopes in tatters. It was a case of taking immediate remedial action and it was a pleasant sight to see the number 21 jersey emerge through the tunnel onto the playing surface, as Daithí took his place in midfield alongside Niall Hughes.

It must have been another traumatic experience for McLoughlin, coming so quickly after the second-half collapse to Leitrim, as his side had struggled through that first period.

He must have envisaged a further collapse when reduced to 14 players, with Glen Malone getting a straight red card less than five minutes into the second-half.

It was at this juncture that Daithí rubbed his chilly hands and decided to take on the responsibility to lead this young side.

With Brian Malone dropping back to fill the void in defence left by the dismissal of his brother, Glen, the pair, and Daithí in particular, took the game to Antrim, as the St. Martin’s man turned in a storming closing 30 minutes.

It took less than seven minutes for Waters to signal his presence. Having won some clean possession initially, and setting up promising attacks, he struck for the game’s only goal.

With his side having fallen a point behind, Waters came up with one of his legendary bursts. Having got himself forward, he was perfectly positioned to take a pass from Kevin O’Grady and cut through the gap in defence, before unleashing a tremendous 20-metre shot high into the far corner of the net, giving his side a lead they never subsequently relinquished.

At this level teams have to turn their opportunities into scores, particularly the limited goal chances that come around, so it was a pleasant sight to see Waters show those young players around him what is needed to achieve success.

It was some return to the 2019 action for Waters who had taken an extended break following a hectic 2018 campaign with both club and county. Sadly, only 348 spectators including children saw the game.

While it is always nice to have that sort of impact from the bench, Wexford will quickly realise that to achieve their goal they must have a similar impact from the start.

They will now be looking to players like Waters and Malone, along with Ben Brosnan, to leave an imprint on this side from the start.

Wexford got away with a victory on this occasion, but the importance of a good start will not be lost on Paul McLoughlin as he faces into more difficult games in their continued quest for promotion.

That is a lesson Wexford will have taken from this game. While that’s for the future, one would have to give credit for the composure they showed through the second 35 minutes.

While the presence of Waters in midfield enabled Wexford to get a grip, there were also many other pleasant soundings from the young players on show.

In defence Wexford were disciplined, with Mark O’Neill and Martin O’Connor being particularly impressive, while Niall Hughes continues to show improvement in midfield.

While the attack had to depend on a rare moment of Waters genius to produce the goal, one can expect much improvement with a fully-fit John Tubritt and Eoghan Nolan, as both Jonathan Bealin and Kevin O’Grady continue to impose themselves on forward movements.

Well done also to the Senior hurlers who travelled down south to fashion a hugely impressive four-point victory over Cork.

Given the Páirc Uí Chaoimh surface, which ruled out quality hurling, on viewing the delayed TG4 coverage one was impressed with the manner in which the players not alone coped with the underfoot conditions but also the Cork challenge.

It should make the clash with Tipperary in Innovate Wexford Park on Sunday week a mouth-watering occasion.