Five talking points as Wexford get first win on board following win over Waterford

Wexford’s unbeaten run continued in the Allianz Hurling League today…

Wexford travelled to Walsh Park to take on Waterford in the fourth round of the Allianz Hurling League and it was Wexford who emerged victorious.

Wexford overcame the odds and won on a score-line of 2-23 to 1-23. It was Wexford’s first win of the Allianz Hurling League, having drawn their three previous games against Kilkenny, Offaly, and Clare respectively. Wexford’s win against the Déise means that they have secured Division 1 status against the big teams for next year, which can only be seen as a positive.

Here, we’ll look at the major talking points following the game.

Cracking Cian:

Fethard’s Cian Byrne stepped up to the plate once again. The young Wexford attacker scored 0-05 from play and won the TG4 Man of the Match award as a result. He is very dangerous in the inside forward line. There’s very little doubt in his mind when he has the ball – and from a supporter’s perspective, it’s great to have an asset like him who can create opportunities for himself and freely pop balls over the bar. One concern for Wexford is the fact that Byrne hobbled off with a foot injury in injury time. Wexford will need him to continue performing well if Wexford are to continue progressing.

Second-half performance:

Wexford were somewhat lucky to go in at the break just three points down as Waterford dominated proceedings, especially around the middle-third. Wexford’s second-half performance, however, was one for the ages and they played like a different team. While Waterford dominated the first-half, Wexford really did dominate the second with Waterford manager Davy Fitzgerald describing his team’s second-half performance as “atrocious” and “disappointing how (Waterford) lost their shape.” One could argue though that Wexford’s tenacity did not allow for Waterford to hurl the way they wanted. Led by Damien Reck, Shane Reck, and Kevin Foley, it was clear that Wexford just wanted it more in the second-half and they reaped the rewards as a result.

Fanning’s save:

One of the major talking points of the game was Mark Fanning’s save in the second-half. It was a crucial save; Wexford were up by five points with 18 minutes in the game still remaining. A clear-cut goal-scoring opportunity, however, was stopped by the Glynn-Barntown club-man. It was just moments after Simon Donohoe batted a ball into the Waterford net and a follow-up Waterford goal may have stopped momentum.

Our new free-taker:

Along with an array of other injuries, Wexford were without their talisman and captain, Lee Chin. Chin’s presence was to be missed and Wexford are no doubt a better team with him involved in it. Although Chin would be missed, Seamus Casey stepped up on free-taking duties. He scored 0-06 from placed balls and looked quite confident over all of them. There will need to be a discussion about our free-taker in the future, but as long as Seamus Casey is on the field, he must be on the frees. Although Casey was excellent on the frees, he was excellent from open-play too, scoring three points from play and looking dangerous throughout the game. The Oylegate-Glenbrien clubman has been one of the shining lights of this new campaign under Wexford’s new manager, Keith Rossiter.

The rebels are next:

Cork will travel to Chadwicks Wexford Park next Saturday. A loss against Waterford would have had Wexford battling against Cork to maintain Division 1 status for next year.

Now though, a win against Cork now would see Wexford play in the Allianz Hurling League semi-final. It’s still all to play for and Wexford, who remain unbeaten, will go into the clash with a lot of hope and momentum. A big crowd is expected in the Park to cheer on the Yellowbellies in what will basically be a League quarter-final for the Model County.