Wexford great Mattie Forde names his toughest ever opponent

Mattie Forde is well-regarded as Wexford’s best ever Gaelic footballer – and he’s often in talks amongst the greats…

The Wexford man won an All-Star in 2004 and was named the GPA Footballer of the Year. It was a year which saw him kick an average of 10 points per game for the Model County.

Along the way, the Wexford man had his fair share of tough battles though.

In a recent podcast with the BBC’s GAA Scoial with Armagh’s Oisin McConville, Forde named the toughest opponent he has ever played against.

“There were plenty — but I’ve always said Sean Marty Lockhart (Derry). And then just to piss you off, he’s a really nice fella off the field too. It was always the ones that say nothing to you, they’re the ones that were the most dangerous. I was marking him in a qualifier in 04. I scored 1-04 that day, but one of my claims to fame was that I was able to keep him scoreless. He was a nightmare. He was tough, aggressive, exceptionally quick — and just a really good footballer. And then as I said, to add insult to injury, he’s a really nice fella off the pitch then also,” Wexford’s Mattie Forde said.

The Kilanerin man also shared on the podcast his ‘best ever’ footballers. He placed Kerry’s Maurice Fitzgerald and Tyrone’s Peter Canavan in the highest bracket, but noted that Kerry’s David Clifford will probably claim that title in a few years.

On the podcast, the Wexford man also opened up about the recent passing of his father, just five weeks ago.

The full hour long podcast with GAA Social can be watched below: