Wexford lost out to Mattie Kenny’s Dublin on Saturday at home in Chadwicks Wexford Park…
The game ended on a scoreline of 0-24 to 0-23 in favour of the Dubs. Today’s game was vital for the Championship league table. Following the crucial draw with Galway last weekend, this loss could prove costly for Darragh Egan’s Wexford Senior hurling side.
Here, we look at some of the major talking points following the game.
Wide-count:
Wexford racked up nine wides in the first-half. A similar theme continued in the second-half. Wexford had hit sixteen wides in the game. At this level, we cannot afford to be hitting easy wides. Some misses from Rory O’Connor from frees, misses from the sideline, and a miss from Charlie McGuckin in front of the goal does hurt as Wexford hurling fans. Wexford’s free-taking is an issue that has haunted us for the past several years, and unfortunately, it’s still not yet fixed.
Penalty miss:
It’s the second week in a row that Wexford have been awarded a penalty and have missed that penalty. Goalkeeper Mark Fanning hit the ball over the bar in last week’s game against Galway, and today, he had his shot saved. To be fair, his attempt today was much better; he went low and to the corner and the Dublin goalkeeper did pull off a brilliant save. While the penalty miss was disappointing, Fanning’s accuracy from placed balls, where he scored three points in the game from distance, must be noted too.
14-men Dublin:
Despite the fact that Dublin went down to fourteen men after Cian O’Callaghan was handed a second yellow card in the 62nd minute, the extra man could not be felt. Instead, Dublin actually pulled away and went back to four points ahead at one stage after the sending off. Although it is easy to say looking on into the battlefield, some more composure on the ball in that last ten minutes when we had an extra man would have been beneficial.
The Jippo chance:
Wexford did manage to get it back to a one-point game. Wexford had a chance to hit the ball over the bar in the final seconds. Wexford’s ever-consistent full-back, Liam Ryan, was storming up the pitch. And just as it looked like Wexford were about to come back and secure a draw through a trademark Jippo point, he handpassed the ball to his club-mate Oisin Pepper, who lost the ball when trying to find Rory O’Connor with a pass. With seconds to go, someone needed to take the chance, but time ran out and it wasn’t to be.
Kilkenny away:
One game that will be earmarked on the calendar now as crucial will be our away trip to Kilkenny. We’ll fancy our chances against both Laois and Westmeath, but we’ll be facing Kilkenny in Nowlan Park in the last round of the championship, scheduled to take place the weekend of 21 May. The championship will likely come down to that last game. Travelling to Nowlan Park, and needing a win, is never easy. The Senior hurlers will take it one step at a time. It’s not over yet, but it has become more difficult and it’s likely now that we’ll be also looking at some other teams to do us a favour.
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What I think is the new manager Darragh egan has not a clue because when u are being cleaned out in corner back and wing back areas you make moves