Four talking points as Wexford hurlers produce statement win over Carlow

A packed and sun-kissed 22 degree Dr Cullen Park hosted the Wexford hurlers as they took on Carlow on Sunday afternoon…

The weather forecaster predicted thunder and lighting, but instead, the storm came from Wexford. On the day, Wexford produced a statement win, with the score-board reading 2-36 to 1-13. Here, we’ll look at some of the major talking points following the game.

Quick start:

Wexford started off the game relatively well. Naomh Eanna’s Conor McDonald chased down the Carlow goalkeeper, Brian Tracey, to then tap the ball into the net. Wexford would move on to score 1-21 in the first half, only conceding 1-07. Other than one small lapse of concentration for the Carlow goal, Wexford really did dominate proceedings. They were once again led by Wexford’s two in-form player, both Lee Chin and Rory O’Connor, who took the game to Carlow and looked dangerous every time they touched the ball. It was clear that Wexford didn’t overlook this game, playing with real speed and tenacity from the offset, something that we called for in a preview article for the game. Carlow struggled to make any real impact on the game, which came as a bit of a shock to the strong Carlow support following their historic draw against Kilkenny last weekend. Wexford’s ruthlessness and dominance continued in the second-half and despite some best efforts from Carlow and Chris Nolan, they struggled to claw back the lead whatsoever.

Electric Eoin Ryan

It’s safe to say that young Eoin Ryan is starting the make the wing-back position his own. He was again one of Wexford’s stand-out performers today. He did his job quite well; he broke down every ball that went his way and cleaned up with multiple breaking balls in defence, one particular in the second-half when Carlow were on for a goal-scoring opportunity. There’s no doubt that he has been a great find for this Wexford team. His speed and work-rate alone stops his marker from hurling. While he’s not the player to run up the pitch or score from long-range, he does a fine job at stopping his man. He has continued his fine form following his excellent contribution against Galway two weeks ago.

Versatile Jippo

Liam Ryan is back and he’s back steadying the ship for Wexford. Jippo started the game in the wing-back position for Wexford, with Conor Foley on the other wing and with Matthew O’Hanlon holding the full-back position. At half-time, it was interesting to see that Wexford manager Keith Rossiter made a tactical decision to move him into the full-back position to help steady the ship in the last line of defence, with more long-balls predicted to go in as Carlow would try to chase the game. It was an interesting choice to select him at wing-back. He has the speed and ability to run up the pitch and score points, similar to Diarmuid Byrnes of Limerick. It will be interesting to see where he is playing against Kilkenny next week. Perhaps he could be given the duties of picking up Kilkenny sharp-shooter, Eoin Cody. Either way, with his name back on the starting fifteen, Wexford’s defence has improved significantly.

All roads to Kilkenny

It’s still all to play for. After the huge disappointment following the Dublin draw and the following trip to Antrim, it was hard to believe that Wexford could still make it to a Leinster final. But that is certainly the case now. The Carlow match has been ticked off, and now, all roads lead to Kilkenny for the final game which is ultimately a Leinster semi-final for both teams. Dublin will play Galway in the other fixture, which can also be viewed as a Leinster semi-final. The winners of those games will meet each other in the final. Although it will be a tough test in Nowlan Park, Wexford have enjoyed relative success against Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship in recent years and Derek Lyng’s charges are not a team that Wexford will fear. Although Wexford have enjoyed relative group stages success against the Cats, Kilkenny are still on the drive for five of Leinster titles. It’s a huge game for both sides and there will be a lot of excitement for this derby clash.