Wexford ready for the Clare challenge
THE WEXFORD Football League face a difficult challenge when they lock horns with the Clare Football League in the Oscar Traynor Trophy quarter-final in Ennis on Saturday.
The Slaneysiders finished second in their three-team group, beating the Leinster Senior League 1-0 in their opener at Bluebell United’s ground, before slumping to a disappointing 3-1 defeat against the Defence Forces at Ferrycarrig Park.
Losing that game to the clinical visitors, having enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, would have irked Wexford manager Brad O’Neill at the time, but they’ve had plenty of time to iron out any issues and he is just glad to be still involved in the competition.
‘After winning up in Dublin we thought we’d end up with home advantage with a result against the Defence Forces, but it didn’t work out that way and we’re just happy to be in the quarter-final.
‘At the start of it when we saw the group we thought the Dublin game was going to be the tougher one, and we went and won up there.
‘Maybe we got a little bit ahead of ourselves and then we came back to earth with the result against the Defence Forces. We’ve regrouped since and we know what’s at stake now. It is a quarter-final, a one-off, and there’s no such thing as another chance now,’ he said.
Although Defences Forces goalkeeper Shane Hallahan had an inspired afternoon, Wexford were guilty of missed opportunities and defensive lapses, so they’ve had plenty to work on ahead of their quarter-final tie.
‘We talked about it the week after. We didn’t take our chances and there was a lot of errors made at the back. The lads put their hands up and I’m sure we’ll learn from that.
‘Hopefully we’ll be more steady at the back against Clare. Some times when most of the play is at the other end of the pitch you can go asleep a bit and make mistakes like that,’ he pointed out.
‘We had plenty of the ball, a lot more than we had when we won against the Leinster Senior League, but it’s all about taking your chances. We just didn’t capitalise on the play that we had,’ he said.
Clare have a strong pedigree in the competition, lifting the trophy and regularly reaching the latter stages in recent years, and despite being confident in his own side’s ability, O’Neill is under no illusions about the difficulty of the task facing his side.
‘They’ve a great record in the Oscar Traynor in the last few years. They’ve been winning it and been in finals. They’re mostly made up of Newmarket Celtic, who are a very good side, and Avenue United. Those two teams are first and second in the Clare Premier League and then there’s a couple of more guys from the likes of Shannon and Lifford, so it will be a tough test down there.
‘It’s a tough place to go but we’re ready for it. They will be well set up but we’ll be no pushovers either, and if we can win that game we’re in the semi-final. Who knows where we could go after that,’ he said.
Clare topped a group containing Limerick Desmond League,
Limerick District and Kerry, so they’ll certainly be battle-hardened for the visit of Wexford.
Having lost 2-1 to Limerick District on Halloween night, they then recovered by beating Kerry 2-1 in Frank Healy Park in December, and sealed a home quarter-final with a 2-1 win over Limerick Desmond in Askeaton in early January.
They have two Irish Junior internationals in their ranks and are managed by Shane Keegan, who will be familiar to many in these parts for his successful stint with Wexford Youths.
The Wexford defence will have to be on their toes and will have their work cut out to keep the lethal front trio of Eoin Hayes, Kieran Mahoney and Rory Hayes at bay, while influential Newmarket Celtic player Stephen Kelly will steady the ship for the Banner.
Goalkeeper Jason McGuire will be absent from the Wexford squad as he’s away, while centre-half Gary Delaney is recovering from a chest infection, but should be fit to take his place.
O’Neill has strengthened his forward line by bringing in experienced campaigner P.J. Banville, and the Campile United man will offer another good option up front.
When Wexford won the competition in 2010 they had to travel to Clare for the final and came out on top, so maybe that’s a good omen for the visitors.
O’Neill certainly doesn’t want it to be a wasted journey and is hopeful that they’ll be making the long trip back to the Model county with smiles on their faces.
‘It’s an early start for us on Saturday and it’s a long way to go, so hopefully we’re not travelling the whole way down there for nothing. We’re well capable of winning down there, so we’ll just have to show that on the pitch,’ he said.