Bumbling Wexford are beaten by Meath
March 1995
Meath 1-16, Wexford 0-16: The hurlers of Wexford bumbled their way to a historic defeat at Bellefield on Sunday as their National League ambitions took a disastrous nosedive. Fitter and better organised, lowly Meath conjured a memorable win from their first ever visit to Enniscorthy.
They had signalled loudly that they were in good form, with a fine win over Offaly in the previous round of Division 2. However, they appeared to be one-hit wonders in the early stages of Sunday’s game, as Wexford picked off a steady flow of points.
With free-taker Damien Fitzhenry providing most of the scores, the home team lead by a comfortable 0-7 to 0-1 with 12 mintues played. They continued to dominate up to half time with the aid of a gentle breeze, though the Royal County battlers kept in touch with a goal. The half ended with Wexford 0-13 to 1-6 ahead – handily enough ahead, but not enough room for complacency.
When Martin Storey tipped over a pass from Fitzhenry shortly after the resumption, it seemed the scoring pattern would continue. Instead though, the natural order of things was poised for a major upset, as the homesters’ scoring touch completely left them.
Meath, in contrast, began to grow in confidence as their defence stood firm and Railway Cup player Pat Pollerton was flawless from frees. They kept the wides to a minimum, and the longer the game went on, the more ragged Wexford looked.
Supporters looked on glumly as their side hacked and fluffed their way into deeper trouble. Again and again, defenders were caught on the back foot, and class players of whom much more should be expected were hardly able to put in a clearance worthy of the name.
The underdogs equalised on 45 minutes and they then cantered down the final straight, put decisively into the lead by a 90-yard effort from midfielder Paul Donnelly.
Liam Griffin’s men scored just three times in the second half, and only once in the final quarter, when their pedigree should have told.
Their shambolic state was summed up on 59 minutes when Meath’s full forward John Andrews was left in an acre of space to point at leisure. Marin Storey might however a pulled a draw out of the fire in the final seconds, but his goal-bound shot smacked into a defender and out for a 65.
Only one Wexford player emerged with reputation enhanced – Damien Fitzhenry, who grafted hard in open play and was immaculate with frees. The rest looked jaded, ring rusty, unco-ordindated, lacking in sharpness, indecisive, inconsistent, and every other fault you can think of.
The wide count told its own tale, with Wexford hitting 11 but Meath being off target just four times. Where the losers needed an extra gear, they merely cruised against a side too committed to be taken lightly.
Wexford: Ian Scallan; Liam Dunne, Ger Cush,
Sean Flood; Dave Guiney, George O’Connor, Larry O’Gorman; Damien Fitzhenry (0-6 frees), Adrian Fenlon; Martin Storey (0-4), Tom Dempsey (0-2), Austin Codd; Larry Murphy (0-1), James Quirke, Eamonn Scallan (0-3). Sub: Paul Finn for Codd, 43 mins.