Spectacular own goal

KEVIN DOYLE’S retirement last week took the attention off a spectacular own goal on the part of Wexford F.C. The disciplinary committee of the FAI announced on Thursday that the club will be fined an undisclosed fee and will forfeit the point gained in their 1-1 draw with Shelbourne in their last home game of the season.

Wexford fielded an ineligible player, so that original draw is now deemed to be a 3-0 victory to the Dubliners and Danny Doyle’s first-ever goal at this level will be chalked off the official record.

The club’s own statement on the matter confirmed that the player in question was Under-17 netminder Colum Feeney who made his debut, and ‘whom we had applied to register to the senior squad in advance of the game, when it became known that our first team goalkeeper was ill’.

‘Regrettably, we were advised that it was too late to do so and due to an administrative error, this information was not passed on to the team management,’ the statement continued.

‘We hugely regret this turn of events and will make every effort to ensure it does not happen again. We would like to apologise to the team management, our players, all our supporters and everyone connected to the club.’

One aspect of the saga puzzles us, though. Feeney was also on the bench a full week earlier for the Waterford tie, so why wasn’t the application to register him made at that stage, or earlier?