Rd dash hopes again
Ny highs ends on a disappointing note
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Breen joined fellow defender Eoin Moore in the notebook for that incident, with the latter booked earlier in the half for a late challenge on Darragh Fives.
A trip by Podge Doran on Shane Fives resulted in Gleeson going deep inside his own half to increase the Waterford lead to 1-15 to 0-13, and Wexford’s task looked nigh on impossible once again given the absence of any worthwhile goalscoring chances.
Jack O’Connor did end a seven-minute barren spell with a point, with Austin Gleeson replying before Guiney converted a free after Conor Gleeson was booked for fouling Willie Devereux and Barry Coughlan also saw yellow (1-16 to 0-15).
Kevin Moran shook off Aidan Nolan for another Waterford point as we reached the midway point in the half, while substitute Maurice Shanahan beat James Breen to the ball and left the Deise men clear by 1-18 to 0-15.
Guiney (free), after Shane Fives took down Chin, and Diarmuid O’Keeffe, from a Rory O’Connor assist, pulled back points, but Wexford were clutching at straws as Páuric Mahony (free) and Shanahan made it 1-20 to 0-17 before wides from Chin and Guiney (two, one free).
The big blemish on Waterford’s win arrived with five minutes left when Wicklow linesman John Keenan called referee Fergal Horgan’s attention to an incident on the left sideline which led to a straight red card for Tadhg de Búrca after an offthe-ball incident that left substitute Harry Kehoe minus his helmet.
Jack O’Connor and Mahony (free) swapped points before a placed ball from Chin was lobbed into the goalmouth and went off a defender’s hand on to the crossbar before it was cleared.
Two Brian O’Halloran points punished a deflated Wexford despite that numerical advantage and extended the margin to eight (1-23 to 0-18).
At least the losers kept going until the bitter end though, with Guiney earning and converting a free that led to a booking for Stephen Bennett before the consolation goal arrived with the second-last puck of the game.
A 20-metre Guiney free was saved on the line, with Jack O’Connor following up first to slam the rebound to the net.
A four-point difference was a fair reflection on proceedings as the curtain went down on a Wexford campaign that featured a number of highs.
Hopefully they will come back in 2018 emboldened by the progress made and intent on pushing on to the next level which has consistently eluded the county since our last semi-final appearance ten years ago.
Wexford: Mark Fanning; James Breen, Liam Ryan (0-1), Diarmuid O’Keeffe (0-2); Eoin Moore (0-1), Matthew O’Hanlon (joint capt.), Willie Devereux; Shaun Murphy, David Redmond; Paul Morris (0-1), Lee Chin (joint capt., 0-3, 2 frees), Rory O’Connor (0-1); Podge Doran, Jack Guiney (0-7, 6 frees), Conor McDonald (0-1). Subs. - Aidan Nolan for Redmond (28), Jack O’Connor (1-2) for Morris (41), Harry Kehoe for McDonald (59), Shane Tomkins for Doran (63).
Waterford: Stephen O’Keeffe; Conor Gleeson (0-1), Barry Coughlan, Noel Connors; Tadhg de Búrca; Darragh Fives (0-1), Shane Fives, Philip Mahony; Kevin Moran (capt., 1-3), Jamie Barron; Michael Walsh (0-1), Austin Gleeson (0-3, 1 free), Páuric Mahony (0-9 frees); Shane Bennett, Jake Dillon (0-1). Subs. - Maurice Shanahan (0-2) for Dillon (45), Brian O’Halloran (0-2) for Bennett (46), Stephen Bennett for Walsh (54), Colin Dunford for Barron (62), Tommy Ryan for Páuric Mahony (70+1).
Referee: Fergal Horgan (Tipperary).