Wexford weather the storm
Vital Hughes goal followed by 41 scoreless minutes
WEXFORD WATERFORD
ONE PRECIOUS score after the interval – arriving in the opening minute – proved sufficient in the long run to give Wexford a second successive Allianz Football League Division 4 victory over neighbours Waterford in absolutely appalling conditions in Fraher Field, Dungarvan, on Saturday.
The in-form Niall Hughes availed of a defensive error from the opposition to pounce for an opportunist goal on a night when the constant driving rain ensured that mistakes were in plentiful supply.
That score – after 48 seconds of the re-start – extended the visitors’ one-point interval lead to 2-3 to 0-5 and left them with the minimum to spare when Waterford finally managed to pull back three points after a scoreless spell lasting 20 minutes.
It was a real war of attrition, with the surface deteriorating with every passing minute, particularly around the middle of the field.
This was the lowest tally recorded by Wexford in the course of winning a game since the 1-6 to 0-6 league success against Wicklow 13 years ago.
And, bearing in mind that the second-half lasted for almost 43 minutes, it’s incredible to think that the victory was secured with no score recorded by the victors from that 48th second onwards.
It kept the momentum going after the previous weekend’s victory over Carlow, and it ensures that the forthcoming encounters home to Sligo and away to Limerick are going to have a huge bearing on the race for promotion.
First up, though, will be the visit of London to Chadwicks Wexford Park on February 22, with the team looking a lot better equipped to deal with the exiles’ challenge than last year when they were humiliated in Ruislip under the old regime.
Wexford had lost to Waterford in championship and league when Paul McLoughlin was boss in 2018 and 2019 respectively, and this was their first win over the Munster crew since the 1-9 to 0-10 league verdict three years ago.
And the changing of the guard was reflected in the fact that only three of the 20 players used when the side last played in Dungarvan – a 0-12 to 0-11 victory in 2016 – were involved under the floodlights on Saturday: Eoghan Nolan, Ben Brosnan, and that magnificent servant Brian Malone, who equalled the 164-game alltime appearance record of his former colleague Colm Morris with a typically assured and composed performance.
It was tricky at times for Wexford, make no mistake about it, particularly in the second-half when they were reduced to 13 men at one stage.
Brosnan was sin-binned for dissent in the 52nd minute, after feeling he ought to have been awarded a free by Cork referee
John Ryan from the Macroom club, who was incorrectly listed as a Tipperary official on the cover of the match programme.
Eight minutes later, full-back Gavin Sheehan was unfortunate to be black-carded on a linesman’s call, apparently for blocking a run off the ball, as he appeared to be sinned against as much as sinning in the incident in question.
As Brosnan made his way on again, to bring the numbers back up to 14, referee Ryan was dealing with a foul by Niall Hughes at the same time, and the black that followed for the midfielder meant that the visitors faced into the critical closing stages with 13 once more.
That they managed to hold out was a tribute to their resilience and generally good discipline on a night when slipping and sliding was par for the course.
They also played a clever and effective game at times, even if it was far from pretty, by driving the ball long into the left corner of their attack, and invariably over the sideline given the wind behind the kicks.
While Waterford re-gained possession as a result, they had to start all over again from deep in their own defence, and the strong pressing of Wexford ensured that their rivals struggled to break out and create chances.
The starting team was unchanged from the Carlow win, and they faced the wind first after Waterford captain Conor Murray won the toss and opted to play towards the Colligan River end.
And just 38 seconds had elapsed when Jason Curry and Corey Kennedy combined to feed Darragh Corcoran – who started at corner-back on Seán Nolan but had the freedom to roam – to kick the home side into the lead.
Wexford seem to have unearthed a real gem of a goalkeeper in the all-action Ivan Meegan who is a prototype for the modern number one, and he added his name to the scoresheet again on his second appearance from a third-minute free.
Tom Byrne was pushed, with the Ferns lad strolling up to the 40-metre mark and kicking over nonchalantly with his left peg.
After Jason Curry missed a Waterford free, Michael Kiely won the kick-out and fed his captain, the busy Conor Murray, for a neat outside-of-the-boot point and a 0-2 to 0-1 lead.
Meegan doubled his tally in the ninth minute, this time from 13 metres after a Waterford defender touched the ball on the ground as he battled for possession with Tom
Byrne following a Martin O’Connor run and handpass.
The first of those two absolutely vital Wexford goals arrived in the eleventh minute, and it was a thing of beauty.
Glen Malone, like big brother Brian, is a very effective foot passer, and when James Stafford played the ball back to him on the right flank, his delivery over the top for Ben Brosnan was inch-perfect.
The Castletown attacker appears to be really enjoying his game again under the new management, and he took the ball at pace before planting it into the far corner of Paudie Hunt’s net (1-2 to 0-2).
Jason Curry pulled back a point from a free shortly after missing one from a tougher angle, but Waterford were fortunate to escape in the 21st minute when the woodwork denied Seán Nolan a goal from an Eoghan Nolan run and handpass.
The home side drew level courtesy of Jason Gleeson and Conor Murray, but Wexford went in with an interval lead of 1-3 to 0-5 after a patient passing move had a successful ending in the 31st minute when Conor Carty gave the last pass for Niall Hughes to curl one over from left of the posts.
Waterford wasted a very kickable free with a silly crossfield pass, and they were also reduced to 14 on either side of the break after midfielder Corey Kennedy was sin-binned for needlessly dragging Hughes to the ground off the ball.
The hosts had kicked five firsthalf wides, compared to one from Hughes in the form of a misplaced pass, and the final tally was 8-2, with Wexford’s second arriving in the very last minute after a forward was tackled over the endline near the corner flag.
It was in that very same area of the field that the decisive second goal was fashioned just 48 seconds after play resumed, with Waterford still down to 14 men.
Goalkeeper Paudie Hunt was caught in no man’s land between the posts and the sideline after a handpass lacked distance and was intercepted by Seán Nolan.
He was unsure whether to back-pedal à la Paddy Cullen or to stand his ground, and when Nolan fed Niall Hughes, the big midfielder made ground before driving a shot that hit Hunt’s hand before ending up in the net (2-3 to 0-5).
Incredibly, Wexford didn’t score again, but it was hard to be critical of the players given the worsening conditions which turned this from a football game into a dogged, ugly battle.
Meegan was just short from another free before Corey Kennedy returned to the fray for Waterford, while Dylan Guiry drove a low shot left and wide that didn’t trouble the netminder.
However, Wexford were fortunate in the 45th minute when Dermot Ryan fed Brian Lynch whose shot was blocked in the square, with Guiry appearing to get in the way of his colleague’s kick.
Brosnan’s black followed, with the first score in 20 minutes recorded in his absence when Darragh Corcoran – who had started the second-half at centre-forward – kicked his second point (2-3 to 0-6).
With Sheehan going, Brosnan returning, and Hughes departing just 35 seconds later, Wexford remained with 13 players and the pressure mounted when a crossfield Jason Gleeson free set up Conor Murray to make it 2-3 to 0-7 in the 67th minute.
Wexford’s full-back was in the fray again by the time Jason Curry made it a one-point game from a free in added time, with the five extra minutes that were announced eventually stretching to seven and a half.
It was like a rugby game, as Wexford sought and found ‘touch’ in the left corner with a long kick by Martin O’Connor, before pinning in their rivals to leave them on four points from a possible six.
Incidentally, there’s an interesting addition to the backroom team, with former Mayo and Wicklow forward Austin O’Malley coming on board to join Paul Galvin, Shane Roche and Noel Holohan.
Wexford: Ivan Meegan (0-2 frees); Martin O’Connor, Gavin Sheehan, Conor Carty; Glen Malone, Brian Malone (capt.), Ronan Devereux; Eoghan Nolan, Niall Hughes (1-1); Tom Byrne, Jonathan Bealin, James Stafford; Seán Nolan, Ben Brosnan (1-0), Mark Rossiter. Subs. - Conor Devitt for S. Nolan (46), Ríoghan Crosbie for Byrne (61), Eoin Porter for Rossiter (64), Robbie Barron for Carty (70+1), also Pa Doyle, Shane Doyle, John Dunne, Dermot Flood, Seán Ryan, Ross Cody. Sin-bin: Ben Brosnan (52), Gavin Sheehan (60), Niall Hughes (64).
Waterford: Paudie Hunt; Darach Ó Cathasaigh, Brian Looby, Darragh Corcoran (0-2); Robbie Flynn, Seán O’Donovan, Dermot Ryan; Corey Kennedy, Jason Curry (0-2 frees); Conor Murray (capt., 0-3), Michael Kiely, Brian Lynch; Stephen Curry, Dylan Guiry, Jason Gleeson (0-1). Subs. - Donie Fitzgerald for Kiely (49), Aaron Jones for Looby, inj. (51), James McGrath for S. Curry (67), Niall McSweeney for Gleeson (67), Adam O’Sullivan for Flynn (70+3). Sin-bin: Corey Kennedy (33).
Referee: John Ryan (Cork).