Wexford hoping to begin with a bang

Oscar Traynor opener against A.U.L.

NEXT SUNDAY sees the Wexford county squad take on arguably the strongest Junior league in the country, the Athletic Union League (A.U.L.) at Ferrycarrig Park, with a noon kick-off.

This is a very tough encounter in the new Oscar Traynor format, which is more or less going back to a knockout basis rather than the group format.

The winners of next Sunday’s encounter go directly into the quarter-finals, while the losers have a winner takes all clash with another first round loser to stay in the competition.

Wexford reached the semi-final of the competition last season and lost to the eventual winners Clare, overcoming the A.U.L. in the quarter-final in a tough encounter.

The squad will miss the services of two great servants to the county team in Leighton Gleeson and Eugene O’Brien, who have retired from inter-county soccer.

Both were members of the historic 2010 win under the current manager, John Godkin, and the squad will also potentially be without the services of Ryan Mahon, Alan Tobin, Anthony Russell and Ricky Fox due to G.A.A. commitments with the new Senior county champions, Starlights. Adam Beary is also absent through illness.

These are quality players that will need to be replaced but the manager is confident that with the backbone of last season’s squad and some new fresh faces, it will give Wexford a fighting chance of reaching the quarter-final at the first time of asking.

Godkin will still have a strong contingent from his own club, North End United, who did the double last season, with Paul Murphy, Shane Dempsey and Kyle Dempsey part of that club’s backbone.

Gary Delaney and Robin Dempsey will also be available for selection after returning from Waterford United.

Moyne Rangers and Shamrock Rovers will also be well represented and these two Enniscorthy clubs have traditionally always had quality players in the set-up.

The Peare brothers, John and James, and newcomers Johnny Flynn-O’Connor and Conor Bruce will push to start as will the reliable Ian Sinnott and Ricky Dwyer from Rovers. Both these clubs will hopefully have more players in contention when the G.A.A. season finishes.

This season’es early pace-setters Gorey Rangers will also add to the strength in depth that the manager has available to him with David Behan, Conor Casserly, Adam Territ and Nathan Brennan making themselves available for selection.

Former winner Seán Culleton will rejoin the squad with the Rhodes brothers from New Ross to add valuable experience to the set-up.

There will be a lot of new faces in the squad and still some old familiar ones like Gareth McCurtin, now playing with Corach Ramblers, and players like Niall Harney may come in and push to fill the voids left by the players missing.

Can this team beat the A.U.L. at the first attempt with so many potential changes? Either way the manager says the squad has lots of talent and a win on Sunday gives them plenty of time to prepare for a quarter-final clash in the new year or a defeat gives them the time to prepare for a knock-out clash in mid December.

‘We can beat any team in the country with the talent pool in Wexford.

‘It’s just getting it right on the day that is the critical thing in these competitions and with the new format it would be great to take a big scalp in the first round,’ said Godkin.

Gareth Larkin, the captain of the 2010 winning team, and Paul Kirwan of Courtown Hibs will join the backroom to add considerable experience and knowledge to the set-up.

* The Wexford Under-18s will also begin their inter-league youths campaign when they face the Waterford League in Gorey Rangers’ Ramstown grounds on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Pádraig Whitty’s charges reached the quarter-finals last season, where they lost out to the Inishowen League at Ferrycarrig Park, and they will be hope to go