Half-time analysis: Talking points from Wexford’s Walsh Cup match with Offaly

The Wexford Senior Hurlers were back in action today…

Darragh Egan’s side took on Offaly in St Brendan’s Park, Birr, at 2pm on Sunday.

Wexford went into the game as 1/3 favourites to win the game. At half-time, the score line stands at 1-08 to 0-13 in Wexford’s favour.

Wexford’s response to goal:

At the eleventh minute mark, Offaly were through on goal and the Offaly attacker, Oisín Kelly, slotted in past Mark Fanning in the Wexford goal. At this stage, Offaly were three point ahead, on a score line of 1-03 to 0-03. The Model County’s response was commendable though. Wexford did not let the goal deter them and they responded excellently, turning the game around to lead by 1-03 to 0-11 just 10 minutes before the break.

Physical game

One of the major themes of this game is the physicality. In the first-half, there were heavy hits on Ross Banville, Charlie McGuckin, and Jack O’Connor in particular. It’s a very physical game, and one can only imagine that this will continue into the second half.

Banville’s frees:

Just like last week against Laois, Banville has been a master on the free-taking. For Wexford in the past, this was often an area that let Wexford down. But, as the commentator said on Clubber, it appears that Darragh Egan is trying to ‘groom’ Banville for a place on this team. While he does need to get into the open-play of the game more, his comfort over the frees, despite the area of the pitch, is certainly nice to have for Wexford supporters. He never looks like he is going to miss, scoring four points from frees so far.

Richie Lawlor’s performance at midfield:

Faythe Harriers club-man, Richie Lawlor, is probably the stand-out Wexford player of the game so far. Although everything isn’t going his way, he is getting on a lot of ball. He won two frees which Banville slotted over, while he also got a score from open-play. He is a very pacey player and his direct running style is causing havoc for the Offaly half-back line when he runs at them.

Other players that are playing well for Wexford are Liam Ryan in the full-back position and centre-back Eoin Murphy.

Wexford will be hoping to start the second-half well and then pull away later in the game, with the option to bring on experienced heads such as Lee Chin, Diarmuid O’Keefe, and Conor McDonald who are named on the subs.

Jason Redmond
Jason Redmond

From Gorey, Jason is the owner of Wexford Weekly. He is also a post-primary English and History teacher.

Value our site? Register NOW for as little as €3 per-year… 

For a €3 Subscription, click here. 

For a €6 Subscription, click here. 

Enjoy our content? Want to keep reading it? By registering, you will have access to all of Wexford Weekly’s content and you’ll also be supporting a growing independent brand. We thank you for your continued support. It costs less than one cent per day to register on Wexford Weekly. If you value our site, we really appreciate it.

– Access to all content
– Improved, premium features 
– Discounts on products 
– First to know about future buses 
– Discounts on future events 

Read also:

Remember to submit your news to Wexford Weekly! To advertise on our socials or website, email our team at info@wexfordweekly.com

Discover more from Wexford Weekly

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading