Wexford will have learned a lot from this narrow victory

LAST SUNDAY was a real day for the die-hard supporter as Wexford took on Waterford in round three of the Allianz League in atrocious winter-like conditions. Incessant driving rain and a gale force wind in the first-half made it impossible for both sets of players to display their skills properly, but both teams performed admirably in the circumstances.

Wexford played against the elements in the first-half and despite trailing by 0-4 to 0-1 after eleven minutes, they played their best football during this opening 35 minutes.

They controlled possession for long periods, worked the ball close to goal just as a team should in these conditions, and created a number of goalscoring opportunities.

Although they failed to convert a number of chances you would have to understand the difficulty posed by the conditions, as a straightforward kick from 20 metres in front of goal was not a certain score as is normal at this level.

The encouraging aspect was that Wexford were creating the opportunities despite having to play an isolated one-man full-forward line to suit the conditions.

They got their reward after 25 minutes with a brilliant goal by the speedy Kevin O’Grady, and the management and supporters were delighted going in at half-time with the scores level.

To be honest, we all expected a bit of an onslaught in the second-half as the rain stopped, the wind got slightly stronger and the sun even made an appearance.

In the second period Waterford, to their credit, put in a spirited performance and did the same as their opponents had done to them in the first-half.

They stifled the first-half dominance of the Wexford midfield and half-back line and prevented a steady supply to the waiting home forward division.

Ciarán Lyng, John Tubritt and Michael O’Regan must have been really frustrated by the lack of service despite playing with the wind.

The big difference between the teams was the performance of the Wexford defence.

They never looked like giving their opponents the goal chance that Waterford were chasing to win the game.

Brian Malone, Jim Rossiter and Michael Furlong were excellent throughout the game in the full-back line while Joey Wadding looked comfortable at centre-back, ably supported by Eoghan Nolan and Tiarnan Rossiter.

In summary, it wasn’t pretty but conditions dictated the entertainment value of this game.

The important thing is that Wexford ground out a result and sit on top of the table with six points out of six.

If we were asked in January would we settle for this start we would have jumped at the opportunity.

The players are getting in to the winning habit and building confidence within the squad.

More young players are getting game time at this level and the competition for places is increasing with each outing.

There are no easy games at inter-county level, and next Sunday will be another test for this developing squad.

Playing Wicklow in Aughrim will be a good gauge of their progress as our neighbours will be on a high after picking up their first points against London last Sunday.

The Waterford game will have been a bit of a reality check for Wexford, showing them that you have to perform at your best for every game at this level.

They learned a valuable lesson while still winning and as a result I expect them to up their game again next Sunday and continue their winning ways with a good performance and most importantly another win.

That would go a long way towards securing promotion.