Minors continue preparations with Model scalp
THE Wicklow Minor football team continued their preperation for their Leinster championship date with Offaly on May 7 with a very useful workout against Wexford in Aughrim on Saturday morning last.
The weekend previous to this was spent in Connaught on a busy training and match schedule where the first stop was Kiltimagh in Co. Mayo.
After a light workout and of course being fed and watered, they headed for the Connaught Centre of excellence in Claremorris to take on the Mayo Minors, and a super game of football this turned to be.
And although Wicklow came out on the wrong end of the scoreline they gave a really good account of ourselves and but for the crossbar and some poor finishing the outcome could have been different.
As one Mayo supporter put it. ‘Mayo expect to win these games and Wicklow don’t, that was the difference’.
Kevin O’Brien and his team are working hard at changing that mentality.
So it was back to Kiltimagh for a rest and after early start it was on to Carrick-on-Shannon to do battle with the Leitrim Minors.
Wicklow lined out with a completely different team than Saturday and due credit again to management for making full use of their talented panel.
This was a completely different challenge to the Mayo one and again Wicklow stood up to the task.
Both teams went at it hammer and tongs, and after a free flowing game Wicklow lost by a couple of points.
The only real downside to the defeat in Carrick-on-Shannon being an injury sustained by Rathnew man Sean Coffey.
The game on Saturday last in Aughrim brought a new challenge again as the Wexford lads took a different approach and packed their defence and again Wicklow dealt with what was put in front of them.
The game started quite sluggish as Wicklow kept on the attack and scores were hard to come by as Wexford defended in numbers and the Wicklow defence were dealing with their sporadic attacks adequately with Andy Foley (Kiltegan), who lined out at number 13, playing as a sweeper in defence and he was mopping up any loose or breaking ball and setting up Wicklow attacks which by half time had yielded five points.
On resumption Wicklow began to take to the task a lot better and were using posession better and more economically and when Tinahely’s Eoin Darcy finished a move to the net Wexford’s goose was cooked and Wicklow ran out worthy victors on a scoreline of 1-11 to 0-7.
On a lighter note, kitman Jim Molloy went missing on the trip to Mayo and after a bit of a panic he was found in Knock saying a few prayers; the lads are not sure whether Kevin sent him on a mission or he was praying for a new van.
Wicklow team from the Wexford game: Niall Gaffney; Fionn O’Carroll, David Lalor, Jason Steed; Kevin Quinn (0-2), Oisin Cullen; Gavin Fogarty (0-1); Eoghan Byrne (0-1), Craig Dwyer; Shane Daly; Eoin Darcy (1-3), Johnny Keogh; Andy Foley, Matthew Ging (0-3), Ruari Tomkins. Subs: Sam Kearney for Oisin Cullen (inj), John Doyle (0-1) for Matthew Ging, Jack Fleming for Shane Daly, Cian McHugh for Andy Foley, Tom Moran, Ben Fennell.