I mean, the resurrection line writes itself, doesn’t it? And while JC took 3 days to come back, Wexford’s own LC needed just 5 extra-time minutes.
A fightback of that nature against one of the Leinster favourites will have satisfied most of the crowd departing Wexford Park on Saturday but Darragh Egan will probably have more questions than answers in terms of where this team stands in the grand scheme of the championship.
Time and again we were told the focus was April 16th. While we suffered the collapses of Dublin and Waterford, we were assured the greater prize was still to come. We’d grin and bear the humiliations as the true performance would come in our first steps on the biggest stage. Despite the game having the drama of The Slap at the Academy Awards this year, this was not an Oscar-winning showing from the home side.
Stage fright was evident once again as Galway swarmed and directed their frustrations down on Mark Fanning’s goal. Similar to Limerick in the league, the Tribesmen couldn’t make their domination count on the scoreboard with a series of uncharacteristic wides. How much of this was down to the Wexford defence is debatable and if you were generous you might say good players shoot poor shots when under massive pressure. But you can only live on your wits for so long and a potential killer blow came when Brian Concannon walked the ball (almost literally) into the net.
Memories of Nowlan Park were flooding back at this stage. Rory O’Connor hadn’t gotten the Superman cape on and was being well marshalled by a Galway backline that was interested in nothing else. Wexford needed the leaders who were absent against the Deise to step up this time with two goals in it at the break.
The reliance on O’Connor is becoming a bit of a problem. Obviously at full flow, he is a joy to behold. A man who thrives under that kind of pressure and is ready to make any contest his own. But look at a score recap of the game and watch how many times his name comes up. Opposition managers are starting to notice and the job of bottling up the Martins’ man went to Daithi Burke who bullied and blasted his way through the first half. It’s also clear that Rory will get no protection from the referees this season. He’ll need to be a bit cuter and a bit louder when drawing fouls or we won’t get to see the best of a generational talent.
Credit does have to go to Conor McDonald who is starting to flourish in the new management set-up. Released from the shackles of oppressive tactics, he’s starting to show the form that made him the model for Samba Hurling all those years ago. The 1-02 from the play doesn’t begin to describe his contribution to the comeback and yet the goal will be discussed for decades to come. He showed unbelievable strength and determination to squeeze the ball in from an impossible angle. Mac is back and that can only be an omen for a decent summer.
The biggest head-scratcher from the weekend is what do you do with Lee Chin now. It was mission accomplished from a management point of view with the Harriers hero. Instead of exploding from the bench like expected, this was a far more measured Chin than we’re used to seeing. Not looking to be the star, he calmly imposed his will on the tiring visitors and might plot a way forward for the rest of his championship.
Look, substitutes are incredibly important in the modern game. Check out finishers Jamie Barron and Aussie Gleeson scoring 2 points each in a 4 point win over Tipperary. Keeping weapons in reserve is vital for a 70-minute performance and it’s a 20 man game now. Chin might not like riding the pine in May but Wexford need that controlled aggression from him and Cathal Dunbar to give them a puncher’s chance heading for the final bell.
The draw might look like a better result as the season goes on but right now it puts both teams at a disadvantage. The table will be unbalanced with Kilkenny grabbing 4 handy points before anyone else gets going. Dublin showed their usual mix of dynamism and doggedness to get past Laois and are still a live threat in this competition. They won’t be dissuaded by this Wexford come back and know they can burst from the blocks in a manner that continues to give Darragh Egan’s side problems almost every time they go out.
A hard game to analyse all told. A flawed performance with as many good moments as bad but nothing has been decided yet. There are plenty of areas for improvement and no team will have reached peak performance in round one.
Let’s call this the dress rehearsal, the real show is still to come.
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