Five talking points as Wexford cruise past Kilkenny in their final game of the year

In the past clashes between Wexford and Kilkenny have always generated great excitement and anticipation….

Yet as ‘Kelly the Boy from Killane’ echoed around a temporarily sun soaked Wexford Park there was a distinct lack of atmosphere. While clashes between these two close rivals are often sell out events the terraces remained closed and although the covered stand was decently filled, the open stand was not near its full capacity.

The lacklustre atmosphere leading up to throw in may well have been reflective of the fact that neither side had anything to lose or gain from this encounter. Through wins against Offaly and Antrim, Wexford had managed to guarantee they would avoid the drop but poor performances against Galway and Dublin meant their summer was over regardless of the outcome of their clash against Kilkenny.

Just as Wexford had nothing to lose or gain from this clash, Kilkenny had guaranteed their spot in the Leinster Final before this clash with Wexford. Despite the fact Wexford were without a prospect of progression in the Leinster Championship or All-Ireland Series, Keith Rossiter’s side generated significant excitement among the home crowd through a stellar performance to overcome their old rivals.  

Team Selection: 

Given the fact that Wexford had nothing to lose from this encounter, many had hoped that Keith Rossiter would take this opportunity to give valuable game time to younger members of the panel who had not seen much action during the panel. High profile retirements from the panel from Diarmuid O’Keefe, Liam Óg McGovern and Matthew O’Hanlon have emphasised the need for depth in the panel and it must be said young players would seldom be faced with the opportunity to gain experience against high quality opposition such as Kilkenny. Others felt it would be best to finish with a flourish and field a strong team to overcome Kilkenny and put a more positive gloss on what had been a disappointing championship campaign. 

In the end, Rossiter managed to strike a fine balance between these two options fielding a strong team with good balance between experience and younger members of the panel. Younger players selected by Rossiter such as Darragh Carley, Corey Byrne Dunbar, Cian Molloy and Eoin Ryan all produced very strong performances and more than held their own against their opponents. Meanwhile, experienced players such as Lee Chin, Kevin Foley, Damien Reck, Simon Donohoe and Rory O’Connor all delivered a significant degree of stability for Wexford when the game was in the melting pot. Donohoe in particular must be singled out for his excellent man-marking of Kilkenny’s talisman, TJ Reid.

In the face of varying opinions on team selection, manager Keith Rossiter struck the correct balance between youth and experience. 

Strong Defensive Performance: 

One of the highlight’s of Wexford’s performance against Kilkenny was the genuinely courageous and tenacious display from Wexford’s defenders. One of the keys to overcoming Kilkenny is trying to keep their free-scoring forwards at bay. Although Kilkenny had by no means fielded their strongest team for their clash against Wexford, prolific scorers such as TJ Reid and Billy Drennan were featured among Kilkenny’s starting fifteen.

Indeed as has been previously noted TJ Reid was unusually quiet during the match and credit for that must largely go to the impressive performance from Wexford’s full back Simon Donohoe. A late goal from Reid distorts the fact that he was kept at bay and quite anonymous for most of the game.

In the early stages of the game, Damien Reck provided inspiring leadership from centre back while his replacement Niall Murphy repeatedly put his body on the line to halt some promising Kilkenny attacks. In the latter stages of the game as Kilkenny enjoyed something of a late resurgence Wexford’s defensive fortitude was placed under severe pressure, yet under this pressure the quality of this defensive display really shone through.

A very impressive goal line clearance from St. Anne’s Rathangan’s Eoin Ryan and Conor Foley’s impressive stop from a TJ Reid free both highlighted the quality and bravery displayed by Wexford’s defence.   

Consistently Inconsistent: 

While this match did buck the trend of what had otherwise been a very lacklustre campaign from Keith Rossiter’s side, many of the errors which had plagued this Wexford side in previous campaign still featured in their performance against Kilkenny. 

At times during the game Wexford were unnecessarily sloppy and error prone, showing flashes of why they had failed to progress in this year’s championship. This led to a failure to put the game completely beyond doubt and fully take advantage of their periods of dominance. Wexford were quite poor at winning their own puck out and from play consistently played high balls into a full forward line that failed to maintain aerial dominance against their opponents. 

Wexford managed to rack up thirteen wides during the match. Aside from the wides Kilkenny’s Eoin Murphy was kept on his toes in the goal as many attempted shots at goal simply dropped in to his hand. Many of these sloppy errors occurred when the game was far beyond doubt however it would have been encouraging to see Wexford cut out many of these errors which had cost them against Dublin and Galway. One could not help to think that if Kilkenny had come to Wexford Park needing a win or had fielded a stronger side these errors could well have proved more costly for Wexford.  

The Dependables: 

What was perhaps the most impressive aspect of Wexford’s performance was the consistent reliability provided by many of their stalwarts. Lee Chin must be given particular praise for a stellar performance. Chin was imperious in the air repeatedly winning the aerial battle with impressive catches. Chin finished the game with an impressive total of 1-13 and stood up as captain to serve as a leading light for this Wexford side.  

Kevin Foley must also be praised for having put in a considerable shift off the ball. While Foley did not add directly to the scoreboard his work ethic and constant harrying of the Kilkenny defenders created opportunities for other forwards to keep the scoreboard ticking over. In one instance Foley’s pressurising led to a Kilkenny player throwing the ball resulting in a free which was duly converted by Lee Chin.  

What was perhaps most impressive was the chemistry displayed between these players. Conor McDonald came off the bench and made a very significant impact on the game displaying some impressive interplay with his teammates. On the 57^th minute Lee Chin hit an accurate cross field pass to Jack O’Connor who duly hit an incisive pass across the field Conor McDonald who then under significant pressure struck a crucial point over his shoulder. On the 59^th minute McDonald was once again to another Wexford score as an accurate pass to Lee Chin which allowed the Faythe Harriers man to float the ball past Eoin Murphy into the top corner of the Kilkenny net. 

This was a game in which Wexford’s big performers stood up and delivered excellent performances to lead their side to victory and for that they deserve significant praise. 

A Bittersweet End: 

While any Wexford person will tell you any day when Wexford emerge with a victory against Kilkenny is a good one this victory was a bittersweet one. Wexford’s impressive display would lead even the most avid supporter to question where this team was during the rest of the championship. 

While this performance was undoubtedly an impressive one, the tenacity, finesse and skill which Wexford displayed against Kilkenny was tinged with a degree of frustration that they could not have displayed this quality earlier in the championship while there was more at stake. Had this Wexford side showed up and performed against Dublin in Parnell Park, Wexford would’ve entered this game against Kilkenny with the guarantee of a provisional quarter final and the prospect of a Leinster Final. 

This was a polished performance from a Wexford side, with the game finishing on a score-line of Wexford 2-19 Kilkenny 1-15, showed Wexford’s quality was beyond doubt.

This victory against Kilkenny displayed in no uncertain terms what this Wexford side is capable of and as such it is all the more frustrating that this quality had not shone through more consistently during the championship. 

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