Ball A day to savour for delighted fans as Cats finally tamed

NOWLAN PARK was full of expectancy as the old enemies warmed up before returning to the dressing-rooms for the final words of wisdom. No fewer than 14,568 people had made their way into this beautiful, compact ground, where a special greeting always awaits visiting supporters and press.

As the media, both national and provincial, gathered some 50 minutes before start in the excellent facilities at the back of the stand, they were made feel as if it was their second home.

So many were hoping that the game would revive memories of the glory days of clashes between these two counties, and confine more recent meetings to the past.

The ground was full of expectancy. I met former Rathnure great Seamus Barron as he made his way inside early, clearly buoyed up for the game, and hoping for a big performance.

Then I saw former Kilkenny great, Eddie Keher, resplendent and as fit looking as ever in the black and amber.

This game, and indeed all clashes between the old enemies, mean so much to people like those mentioned, and the many more spreading right through the ground.

In so many ways this was a throwback to those great years, but for the hundreds of young Wexford boys and girls clad out in the purple and gold, with hurleys at their side, they were still awaiting a victory over Kilkenny.

This thunderous afternoon carried so many echoes from the past, as Wexford were absolutely insistent that they were going to achieve a result, while Kilkenny were refusing to buckle.

But for the brilliance of home ‘keeper Eoin Murphy it would have been a Wexford victory in double figures, a strange turnaround as we have not been within eleven points of the old enemy over recent years.

Kilkenny were still just two points adrift as the game entered the closing minutes. They must still have felt capable of pulling off a late smash and grab. They should have been dead and buried but were still hanging in there.

Mark Fanning floated a huge free to the edge of the square, and substitute Jack Guiney rose among a forest of hurleys. As the ball dropped it seemed to have taken a sudden curve to the corner of the net. Fanning will lay claim to the green flag, while Guiney will put his hand up for an assist.

But whatever way the ball ended up in the net, the decibels rose in Nowlan Park, with Wexford supporters suddenly realising they were about to celebrate an historic day, a first Wexford victory in league or championship against Kilkenny in Nowlan Park since 1957, an era that brings us back to the days of the Rackard brothers, Ned Wheeler, Nick O’Donnell and Padge Kehoe.

This was a special day for Wexford joint captain, Matthew O’Hanlon, whose grandfather, Mick, was part of that golden era of the early and mid-fifties. It was the kind of circumstance that would measure the journey made by any player.

Clearly Matthew matched up to the demands, giving his finest display in the purple and gold. His late grandfather would have been proud of his physical defending and powerful hurling.

It was the day he became a leader along with so many others, such as Lee Chin, Conor McDonald, David Redmond, Mark Fanning and Shaun Murphy.

It was a day when players like Willie Devereux, James Breen (what a man-marking job on the great T.J. Reid), Damien Reck, Aidan Nolan, David Dunne, Paul Morris and Jack O’Connor all came of age.

Wexford have mixed the good with the bad in Nowlan Park in recent times, but on the final whistle one could feel a sense of relief among supporters, as young and old made their way onto the pitch to join in the victory.

It meant so much to the travelling Wexford supporters which was not lost on the players and manager Davy Fitzgerald.

It was a good 20 minutes before many Wexford players succeeded in making their way from the pitch as supporters gathered in masses waiting to greet their new-found heroes.

Even many old-timers who have followed the purple and gold through those lean years managed a smile and a hug.

It was hard not to feel proud of what had just been witnessed on this memorable day.