Five talking points as Wexford Senior footballers have stroll in the Park against London

By Byron Jones at Wexford Park

Wexford 2-24

London 2-6

The Wexford senior footballers had a very easy time of it as they dispatched London with aplomb in a windy and cold Wexford Park on Saturday night in their Division 4 League Round 1 match…

Wexford’s defensive grit and teamwork was backed up with absolutely superb point scoring from midfielders, half forwards and full forwards alike with fabulous cohesion and link play along with ruthless efficiency in point scoring shown up front.

Wexford’s use of Gaelic footballs new rules

Several new rules came into play for the Wexford footballers on Saturday night and they used them to their full advantage.

A key new rule is the kicking of points from on or outside a 40 metre arch which results in a two pointer. I counted 5 or 6 times in the match when Wexford players took on these shots and struck them wonderfully over the bar. Midfielders Tom Byrne and Niall Hughes snuck up field and dissected the posts on several occasions. This appeared to be a tactic from a Wexford point of view and it worked well.

The tap and go rule, whereby a free is given and the player can instantly tap to himself and run was utilised a few times by Wexford which sped up the play and got a sharp and quick attack going giving defences a torrid time re-organising.

Another massive change is first whistle throw in and second half restart throw in which now only requires two players to battle for the ball. For this, Wexford choose Tom Byrne to take on the responsibility of gaining possession and moving into attack from the outset. He’s a massive man and did his job here and will be a big asset in this role in the future, should he keep in the middle of the park.

Full-forward line like a pack of wolves

Full-forward pressure was a real aspect of the night as the Wexford attacking line were obviously on the prowl as soon as a London player got near the ball. As soon as the London defence got the ball, he was simultaneously under extreme pressure from Sean Ryan, Sean Nolan and Kevin O’Grady and this often encouraged the half forward line to get in on the attack smelling blood.

It was obviously spoken about pre-match in the dressing room and it was fantastic to see the Wexford attackers hassle and hustle London defenders which led to slow ball coming out, turn overs, frees and scores. It was incredible attitude and worked brilliantly and I hope they keep going with it.

Defenders showing a ruthless streak in front of Goal.

In a traditional sense, Gaelic footballer defenders would get shouts of disgust if they ventured up to half way – but in modern Gaelic football, they are given much more freedom to show the forwards how it’s done on occasion.

In Saturday night lights in Wexford town, the defenders decided to hit the floor and show some moves. Late on in the first half Wexford full-back Gavin Sheehan found himself on the edge of the small square after a venture up the pitch. A scruffy shot at the posts by Wexford ended up in the danger area which was neatly caught by Sheehan who slipped like an eel back around a London defender, made an angle, and absolutely buried it in the bottom corner from close range.

In the second half, young Kilanerin/Ballyfad star Páraic Hughes took on possession from around the 40 metres arch, took on his defender, ghosted him, put on the after burners down through the middle and smashed it home to the bottom right hand corner to score a majestic goal.

Smart use of the bench

Managerial use of the squad was something I really appreciated on the night, wherein Báinisteoir John Hegarty realised at half-time that this was going handily enough for the Wexford Senior Footballers.

On what was a brisk, windy, showery, ugly night in the Park both keeping the top players fresh and injury free for bigger games, whilst more so given as many of the subs as possible a run out and a chance to impress was great to see.

Hegarty was not slow to roll out the cavalry and believe as early as the 53rd minute or so substitutes Sean Barden and Dylan Furlong were being sent on to work their magic and try to send a message to the coaching staff.

Numerous more substitutions were made and with much time left, to me showing fantastic coaching and a real understanding of squad morale.

Ripping it up in attack

Attacking cohesion was absolutely exceptional on the night as the entire Wexford attacking unit, including the midfielders, was top notch.

From a very busy and efficient full forward line to a classy and energetic half forward line, the Wexford forwards were to a man sharp, quick-witted, showed great link play and vision, skillful, accurate in attacking passing and deadly accurate in point scoring and two pointers. To put it into perspective they had managed a lovely 1-15 by half-time.

They were all comfortable on the ball, gave great passes to sprinting runners and played real heads up football.

Seán Nolan again had a fabulous game showing great marksmanship, with some fabulous scores from the big man, Eoghan Nolan was striking terror as he always does with rampaging runs up the middle of the London defence and Shane Petitt was so impressive in his distribution play, capped off with two outrageous scores.

I believe we have a really exciting attacking line up in this current crop and I was very much in awe of their movement, skillet, teamwork and scoring ability with 24 points scored from midfield up to the full forward line. A marvellous performance indeed – and a perfect start to the year, with promotion to Division 3 of the Allianz Football League being the Wexford Senior Footballer’s biggest priority.