Disappointment is natural, but we’re still in the running
I’M SURE I wasn’t the only Wexford follower feeling sorry for myself and frustrated on the slow journey home from Nowlan Park on Saturday. The manner of the defeat was particularly hard to take, and the fact that a draw would have sufficed made it even more galling.
It was as if Kilkenny wanted to inflict as much pain as was humanly possible on their long-time rivals. If they had a chance to write the script of the game in advance, they couldn’t have come up with a more cruel denouement.
After falling nine points in arrears, they slowly but surely erased that lead and then had the temerity to win by one when all we needed was a share of the spoils to pip them to a Leinster final spot.
I heard some awful rubbish spouted before the game, with the suggestion that a route via the preliminary quarter-final might be more beneficial, rather than getting another crack at Galway.
Some of the genuises forwarding this view really seemed to believe that a man wearing a purple and gold jersey would take it easy on a black and amber rival, or vice versa, all for the sake of a perceived softer path.
What a load of nonsense. One thing that can never be questioned about this group is their absolute commitment to the cause.
It mightn’t always be reflected in the results, with Saturday a particularly bitter pill to swallow, but I’m sure that nobody was hurting any more than the players after this narrow reversal.
Twenty-four hours after the game, my gloom had lifted for a couple of reasons.
Firstly, I had a welcome diversion from the cynicism and hype that often mars sport at the highest level when I joined a large crowd of spectators in the blistering heat at the 47th annual Mini World Cup finals organised by the Wexford Albion club.
The two finals meant as much to the young participants as Saturday’s big showdown did to the hurlers, and it was a lovely family occasion as parents, younger and older siblings, aunts, uncles, grannies and grandads gave every encouragement to four well-prepared teams.
It served as a timely reminder that sport is ultimately about giving people a platform to express themselves and provide entertainment for the masses.
We can all get carried away by the happenings on the inter-county scene, but it takes some incredible talent and commitment to follow one’s dream and get to that exalted level.
I’m sure the Wexford players will be glad of the rest, and the supporters won’t mind a few weeks without having to dig deep for tickets and associated costs either.
Whether we meet Carlow or Westmeath next - and we won’t know until July 1 - they deserve our full focus and we shouldn’t automatically jump one step ahead and assume we will move on to face either Limerick, Cork or Clare.
I’ve seen Carlow in one of their Joe McDonagh Cup games thus far, the home win against Kerry.
Their stalwarts such as the Coadys and Byrnes, James Doyle and Denis Murphy would relish a crack at the neighbours, and it would be a very interesting day too for mentor Martin Byrne from Rathnure.
As for Westmeath, let’s not forget that they deservedly beat a Minor team including current Seniors Damien Reck, Conor Firman, Rory O’Connor, Aaron Maddock and Joe O’Connor in the championship as recently as 2015.
The other reason my mood lifted as Sunday afternoon turned into evening was the thought that it would be a damn sight worse to be either a Tipperary or a Waterford supporter by that stage.
Departing the championship as early as June 10 will be extremely hard to take for both, and we must console ourselves with the realisation that we are still in with a chance of making progress.
Davy Fitzgerald has been consistent in his belief that the punishing schedule has played a big part in our successive defeats.
Once July arrives, that argument will no longer be valid, and the onus will be on Wexford to raise their game, dismiss the McDonagh Cup challenger, and then attempt to take out at least one of the big guns. Hopefully there’s a lot more hurling left in this summer yet.