Delighted for the minors, and also delighted to have another double header in croker to look forward to. Big Tree, pints in croker at half time, full time, half time, big tree again, flannerys, coppers. A true bogger day out, can’t wait to laugh at those kilkenny cabbage chewing, turnip munching, raw meat eating, ginger haired, freckly, ditch hurdling, tractor loving, farming fetish bog monsters. On the hurling front i just hope we won’t feel compelled to leave in disgust and embarrassment 10 mins into the second half…again.
Went to the minor game. Very good and exciting game. Wexford showed great heart. Were coming back into it until dublin got another goal, everyone in the crowd seemed to say that was that but they showed great passion and skill in coing back. Willie Deveraux(corner back) Eoin Moore(centre back) Harry Kehoe(midfield) Paul Morris(centre forward) Shane Tomkins(wing forward) Michael O Hanlon(full forward) all look like they have real promise for the future, and lets hope they do. Also Liam Og McGovern who came in midfield steadied the ship with good hard hurling. I’ve been very disappoionted with andrew shore, doesn’t look to have the hurling in him at al, looks like a bit of a mouthpiece too. Everyone was expecting big things for him, i even see some dickhead on the hoganstand thinks he should be on the senior team.
Fitzy got injured at the weekend…
Wexford goalkeeper Damien Fitzhenry has emerged as a major doubt for next Sundays Leinster SHC final against Kilkenny after injuring his foot in a weekend club game.
Fitzhenry, who is the last remaining link with Wexfords 1996 All-Ireland winning side, picked up the injury when playing for Duffry Rovers against Marshalstown in the local senior hurling championship on Friday, and was forced to retire early in the game. He was also forced to sit out training on Sunday.
“We will not know really until Tuesday night,” Wexford manager John Meyler said of the former All-Stars chances of playing in the final.
“Its quite tender and sore. While hes okay to walk, its when he puts pressure on the foot or come into contact that it could cause problems. We just have to wait and see.”
Fitzhenrys nephew Niall Maher has been drafted in as cover to sub goalkeeper Diarmuid Flynn for Sundays decider.
Whatever about Fitzhenry, the Slaneysiders will definitely be without Ciaran Kenny (broken thumb), Stephen Nolan (thumb ligaments) and MJ Furlong (broken fibia).
So there’s a few differences in what people made of the standard on Satuday night. I heard that the referee was ridiculously bad and kept disrupting the flow of the game alright but that both teams played well and our lads did excellently to come back. Appendage reckons there’s a few future seniors in the side and I’ve been particularly impressed with Eoin Moore on the two occasions I’ve seen him play in the championship this season - Dunnesque I would say. I’m really looking forward to the final next Sunday now.
[quote=“stevie G”]Fitzy got injured at the weekend…
Wexford goalkeeper Damien Fitzhenry has emerged as a major doubt for next Sundays Leinster SHC final against Kilkenny after injuring his foot in a weekend club game.
Fitzhenry, who is the last remaining link with Wexfords 1996 All-Ireland winning side, picked up the injury when playing for Duffry Rovers against Marshalstown in the local senior hurling championship on Friday, and was forced to retire early in the game. He was also forced to sit out training on Sunday.
“We will not know really until Tuesday night,” Wexford manager John Meyler said of the former All-Stars chances of playing in the final.
“Its quite tender and sore. While hes okay to walk, its when he puts pressure on the foot or come into contact that it could cause problems. We just have to wait and see.”
Fitzhenrys nephew Niall Maher has been drafted in as cover to sub goalkeeper Diarmuid Flynn for Sundays decider.
Whatever about Fitzhenry, the Slaneysiders will definitely be without Ciaran Kenny (broken thumb), Stephen Nolan (thumb ligaments) and MJ Furlong (broken fibia).[/quote]
Fitzhenry confirmed 100% fit at today’s press conference.
Delighted for the minors. That was a big win over the defending champions and will do alot for their confidence. As an aside I thought the attendance was excellent, certainly though there was more than 4000 there and there was a really good atmosphere throughout.
As for the game, these boys know how to really dig out a result. The previous week in croker they were on the ropes but still could have stole it at the end, while on saturday we trailed by four points with just five minutes remaining and still managed to win it.
The referee was poor, just poor in general in that there was nothing malicious in the game but he simply refused to allow the game to flow. I also thought that the Dublin free taker fouled the ball with most if not all of his frees, he seemed to hold the ball on the hurl for an eternity before striking. It certainly wasn’t a jab lift. He also allowed the Dublin goal to stand in the first half despite having clearly already blown his whistle. So although the Dubs were infuriated at the end, it’s not as if he done Wexford too many favours. He was just a poor ref.
Wexford seemed to only really hurl in patches, with the players already mentioned on this thread doing well throughout. I, like Bandage, think Eoin Moore is a super hurler with a bright future. He is a great reader of the game and has the required aggression in his game to make it. Once again Andrew Shore failed to perform which was disapointing, however, both Paul Morris and the full forward O’Hanlon shone in the forwards. Morris’ goal at the end was as good as if seen in quite a few years, racing past two or three dubs, before unleashing an unstoppable drive to the roof of the net from 21 yards. The strike was also from the hurl as he had previously caught the ball twice.
What was great to see was the way the pushed on for the winner at the end having been behind for a large chunk of the game. What would worry me is their tendency to almost fall asleep for small patches of the game so hopefully they will manage a 60 minute performance on Sunday. Having attended the earlier meeting with Kilkenny this year along with bandage I don’t feel there is too much to fear. That day in the park Kilkenny pulled away in the last ten minutes and Wexford failed to make use of their bench as well as the Cats but, in both games against the Dubs, the men on the line acted pretty quickly and made the necessary changes.
The two games against Dublin will have done this team the world of good while Kilkenny had a relatively straightforward win over Carlow. Here’s hoping that these boys can give us something to be proud of on Sunday. Wexford by three.
pretty much agree with all that Stevie G. Ref was overly fussy and disrupted a harmless game. No dirt in it, which isnt indicated by the free count. Still think they have more in the tank too, but at least they should have confidence to finish out game now unlike the earlier game against KK when they had it in the bag but seemed to lack the drive to see it out to the end. KK brought on certain starters that day too late on, which effectively turned the game for them. This is the best chance we have had in a mumber of years for success at minor, so it 'd be great to finish it off.
I don’t think the first game against Kilkenny should have too much bearing on Sunday’s game either as we’ll have improved considerably since then while they’ll have a stronger team out also. I recall De La Salle were due to play the All-Ireland Colleges Final the week after that first game and because of the round robin format some of Kilkenny’s stronger players weren’t included in the starting XV. Some of these DLS players came on and changed that game and they’ll probably be starting on Sunday.
Kilkenny 1/33 from 1/20 with Powers.
Interesting enough this…
Leinster Council secretary Michael Delaney has revealed that they had considered moving next Sundays provincial hurling final out of Croke Park.
With the attendance for the clash of Kilkenny and Wexford not expected to exceed 25,000, the final could have been comfortably accommodated in Nowlan Park, Wexford Park or Portlaoise but, according to Delaney, plans to stage it at a provincial venue were scuppered by the replayed Wexford-Dublin semi-final.
“The most we can hope for is 25,000 and that will be lost in Croke Park,” Delaney said.
"We talked about it this year and Id say that but for the Dublin-Wexford semi-final going to a replay, wed probably have gone ahead and moved the final. But the extra week made it impractical to switch venues at short notice.
“We would have been thinking in terms of asking Wexford and Kilkenny to toss for venue and alternate the next time the counties met in the final.”
And despite the involvement of renowned crowd-pullers Dublin in the Leinster football final against Wexford on July 20, Delaney isnt expecting the game to be a sell-out.
“We would expect a crowd around the same size as Sundays (67,075),” he added.
"Wexford wont suddenly have huge football support and Id imagine the crowd will be between 65,000 and 70,000.
“But thats not the way we judge the seasons and its marvellous to see Wexford coming through as a new face on the scene. Theres been a lot of development work in the county and its paid off.”
…would have been great to have the opportunity to play Kilkenny in a Leinster final in Wexford park. Surprised they dont expect a sell-out for the football, hope they’re proved wrong.
Not having a pop here and I think Bandage has touched on this point before but the support Wexford get is pathetic.
What is the reason for it…is there just parts of the county that are not GAA strongholds at all ?
[quote=“thedancingbaby”]Not having a pop here and I think Bandage has touched on this point before but the support Wexford get is pathetic.
What is the reason for it…is there just parts of the county that are not GAA strongholds at all ?[/quote]
Support for footballers is fairly pathetic alright. But it has grown in the last 5 or 6 years. Wexford people just love watching the hurling more. All parts of the county are GAA strongholds. There’s probably more football teams than hurling ones (ie all grades) but ya can’t bate watching the hurling-even if we’ve been hockeyed by KK for a while now.
Footballers deserve more support though and I reckon we’ll be outnumbered 10-1 against the Dubs.
We’ll still beat them though. Let’s hope they don’t fire any firecrackers or missiles at our players this time!
Pathetic is probably a bit harsh. Suppose in terms of the hurling some people might find it hard to constantly bring themselves to Croke Park for Leinster finals against Kilkenny (this is our 8th in a row i believe) when there is an apparent gulf in class and we get the odd hammering (ha). I for one will never stop going as although the defeats are hard to take it makes the victories all the sweeter. However, the switch to provincial venues i think would definetly help.
As for the footballers, it is disapointing that they don’t get a larger following but i think it was appendage who mentioned here before that there is a pretty loyal band of us who do follow them. To be honest I love going to watch the footballers as you are always guranteed value with them as they have a superb never say die attitude.
I havent really answered your question DB but i suppose one contributing factor would be the relatively new phenomenon that is a Wexford football team. For years it was simply one game against the likes of westmeath carlow or longford and that was the extent of our championship exploits.
Also when other counties reach Croke Park it always adds a few thousand to their support as it becomes ‘an occassion’, however, practically every championship game that Wexford play is in Croke Park.
True Stevie G. There is a loyal band of support there-you’d see the same faces the whole time over the years. It’s good to see that our support is growing all the time too. This is mainly due to the qualifier system that came into being years ago and gave people, as you said, more than 1 opportunity to catch our footballers playing. And also due, in fairness, to Matty Forde who was the star attraction when he’s on his game. Was often worth the entrance alone. We eventually went on a run and beat Kildare in that quarter final a few years ago and haven’t looked back since.
One thing you’re always guaranteed with the footballers is heart and fight til the bitter end. Something which the hurlers lack in the last few years unfortunately.
Going to Croke Park is an expensive day out for families. Without trying to sound cocky, we’ve had an average of at least 3-4 games in Croker every season for probably the last 8 years. Its fine for those of us living in Dublin but for those driving up from Wexford when you factor in ticket prices, food, cost of fuel etc. it can all add up over a summer particularly if you have a family going along.
Bar Dublin, we probably play in Croker more than any other county in Ireland in both codes over the course of a year. Its tough going being a Wexford fan!
I wouldnt say the support we get is pathetic either DB. Wexford supporters are widely acknowledged as being some of the most loyal supporters in the country. Getting 10,000 - 15,000 out of the county to witness a Turkey shoot against Kilkenny for the second or third year in a row is an achievement in itself. I just wish the footballers had a bigger following though as they deserve it.
The hurling get a bigger crowd because they have been more succesful over the last fifty years, same reason there are more Man unt supporters than Man city. Still if the footballers win against Dublin expect to see the crowds increase dramatically as the bandwangoners all jump on board.
Leinster hurling finals on a home and away basis are obviously the way forward and they would make for a far better atmosphere and occasion. Home and away (I love writing those three words) agreements between the major counties are easy to agree as nobody’s losing out and they work well in the U-21 championship and minor championship too (up to the Minor Finals, which are always held in Croke Park). Think of the atmosphere at some qualifier hurling games, like our defeat of Waterford in Nowlan Park in 2003, and the possibility is there to replicate occasions like these instead of playing in a barren and deserted Croke Park.
I think Wexford’s unique enough in that there isn’t an east/west or north/south hurling and football divide. There’s neighbouring parishes dotted all around the county that concentrate more on one code than the other or are true dual clubs and, even when we had a poor football team, we always had large numbers playing football. It’s just that there’s a tradition in Wexford of supporting the hurlers more and that emanates from our great teams of the 1950s and 1960s and which has continued right up to now. This Sunday Wexford will probably bring more support than Kilkenny but the combined crowd will be small in Croke Park terms.
But getting back to our football support, while our senior team was struggling they attracted small support despite large playing numbers in the clubs. Since we’ve improved there hasn’t been a corresponding upsurge in support and it really disappoints me. I take Mac’s point that Croke Park trips are expensive but if you’re a GAA person then surely your budget can stretch for a few additional football games. It’s not as if we’re getting to All Ireland semi-finals and finals yet! It also doesn’t explain our pitiful support in Carlow for the Meath game (after an undefeated league campaign too remember!) despite it being a bordering county and a short drive. What the fook do these lads need to do to get some decent fooking support?
I recall being up in Mullingar for the football replay against Westmeath in 2001 and there was probably about 200 Wexford supporters there. Later that summer we got annihilated by Kilkenny in the Leinster Final and we responded by beating Limerick in Croke Park. An official told me we sold less than 5,000 tickets in the county for the Limerick game but then once we won that all the bandwagoners were back on board for the semi-final against Tipperary, which went to a replay. I’m more or less agreeing with Appendage’s point from before in that the hurlers have a decent enough core support plus a huge bandwagon element, whereas the footballers have a small core support. I thought the badwagon element would have gotten more behind the footballers by now but they haven’t as of yet. Maybe this Leinster Final appearance will finally be the trigger for it to happen?
it was something I spoke about in the bandwagon thread a few weeks back too, about Wexford being fairly bad with it. The footballers get feck all support, let alone bandwagon support (was also up in Westmeath for that game Bandage, Mark Gahan getting roasted by Dessie Dolan that day after Robert Mageean left for America during the week having kept him quiet enough in a great game in Wexford Park when Leigh O Brien scored a shitload. First county game in Wexford Park I think it was too).
And as you say, we had feck all up at the Limerick game in 01, yet the stadium was nearly full for the semi finals with Tipp. In fairness, it does get harder to keep travelling up to Dublin for games, and only for the minors are playing beforehand in the hurling, I would have been doubtful to whether I’d go or not. Used to be grand living in Dublin, used to go to loads of games in Croker, 5 or 10 for students used to be great, and pints after with what ever county won then.
The game against Meath, I cant understand why we didnt have more there. It was a lovely day on a bank holiday, and a short drive for the majority of people in Wexford, but yet only about 2-3000 turn up. In fairness to the football supporters, they are a dedicated bunch, and as the lads have said, you meet the same people at all the games. Altho you’d miss Keevans these days screaming abuse at the referee.
Handicap betting in from Paddy Powers :
Kilkenny (-13) = 5/6
Handicap Draw = 14/1
Wexford (+13) = Evens
are wexford worth a bet at +13…considering it is more than likely going to be wet and windy…weather that will suit tight hurling…