Gizzy Lyng being interviewed in Irish at the moment yet he stills manages to get the obligatory âI supposeâ in there.
i reckon tg4 gave him man of the match ahead of farrell for the reason of him been a gaelegoirâŚ
Well deserved that but made it way more difficult than it should have been. Still, it didnât matter how we won as long as we did it to get back to Division One. Half back line was excellent, particularly Stamp, and both midfielders got through loads of work. Colm Farrellâs really come on in leaps and bounds. Was quite happy that we seemed to be playing to a structure and were at least trying to use the ball intelligently, even though our execution and composure let us down at time. Loads of improvement needed but good to be back testing ourselves against the best. Well done to the players and management.
Great wan the yella bellies!!
You magnanimous prick
Congrats to our neighbours in Wexico.
Looking forward to next season when Carlow and Laois play in the D2 League final and Waterford get relegated.
Christ, it was probably the worst display of shooting I have seen in any game at any level.
Wexford will be hard bet in Nowlan Park in a few weeks. I will certainly make the trip home for that one.
Finally, a post from padjo that wasnât a reply to an NCC post. Well done, mate. Youâll have noticed that Bonnar had no clipboard today. Heâs making improvements and I recognise that. Much better tactically today - Kenny doing the specialist marking job on Honan and so on. Thatâs not to say that plenty of mistakes havenât been made over his tenure to date. Positive signs though.
Stop being a magnanimous prick
Youâre weird. Good day to you.
:rolleyes:
great call Puke
Bring on them Western chokers :guns: :guns: :guns:
A lot of positives to take from it but a lot of work still to do. Couldnât get over how bad Clare were. Honan is a fair shaper by the looks of it. One of the corner backs seemed interested in doing nothing but trying to rise Peter Atkinson. Gave him a few sly shots to the balls when play was at the other end. Fair play to Atkinson for not reacting this time.
That was easy in the end. :barcasmile:
Any further thoughts about Sunday? The main positives are:
- That John Meylerâs Kerry side wonât be rocking up to Wexford Park in the league next season.
- Bonnar ditching his clipboard.
- Picking largely the correct team (dropping Richie Kehoe for Carlow still rankles with me though).
- Having the most appropriate players designated to mark the oppositionâs danger men (I still remember him letting McCrabbe hurl as the spare man in Dublinâs 3-man midfield last year while Travers stood idle at corner back and didnât even move into the centre to a position where he could sweep up at either side).
- All round we were more tactically aware.
- Playing with a degree of method and understanding albeit the execution was off at times (Mullallyâs coaching is meant to be fairly good).
- Younger players starting to look more comfortable at this level, e.g. Colm Farrell and Harry Kehoe.
Weâre still carrying a few and need more strength in depth though.
Not letting the heads drop, never let the inbred get more than 2 or 3 points ahead.
Keith Rossi was immense.
Forwards actually linked up well enough and realised that passing the ball backwards can be good sometimes.
Mick Jacob got the obligatory pass to his brother in.
Darren Stamp looks well at centre back - still has a tendency to just lump balls away without looking though
:rolleyes:
From todays IT - are we getting ahead of ourselves here? I donât like all this positivity and optimismâŚ
Christ, Clare are fair fucked though.
Wexford in the perfect place
GAELIC GAMES NEWS: THE GLORIOUS unpredictability of Wexford hurling continues. As if on cue, they defied most predictions by securing league division one status next year, beating a fancied Clare team in Thurles on Sunday.
Straightaway that has been stored away as a sort of bonus prize, as all thoughts shift to their Leinster Championship opener against Galway in just under four weeks.
No surprise then that none of the team was in a hurry to leave Thurles, more than happy to stick around for a sneak preview of their championship opponents Galway, who methodically and fairly ruthlessly dismantled Cork to claim the division one title.
Wexford take on Galway at Nowlan Park, Kilkenny, on May 29th, and no prizes for guessing the predicted outcome there. Perfect for Wexford.
That shift in focus was reflected in the Wexford camp yesterday when manager Colm Bonnar promptly handed the championship captaincy to Diarmuid Lyng, the experienced and highly influential half forward who chipped in with 0-7 on Sunday, including one typically sublime sideline cut. Lyng reflected their four-point win over Clare from two perspectives; the peace of mind it brought for next season, and the proper mindset it has cultivated for their showdown against Galway.
âThat made our win over Clare even more vital,â said Lyng, the 28-year-old from the renowned St Martinâs club. âIt was huge for us because we needed a good game under our belts, to give the whole team a lift and put some real confidence into the squad, because there is nothing like a title and a bit of silverware to get everyone going and motivated for the games ahead.
âSo there was an awful lot riding on the outcome, for both Wexford and Clare, and winning promotion to division one next year was also a massive boost for the game in the county among the players and management.
âWe made a few mistakes and shot too many wides, which will need to be improved upon if we hope to beat Galway. This is going to be a real challenge for us and we have to raise our sights still more if we are to overcome Galway. Everyone saw on Sunday evening what a fine team they are.â
Wexford will go into that Galway clash in the right mindset: nothing to lose, perhaps, but certainly with it all to gain â as the winners face either Antrim or Offaly in the Leinster semi-final in Croke Park on June 20th.
âA victory like this at this time of the year is precious,â added Lyng.
âI remember how I felt after we lost to Offaly in the same division two final last year, and I think it knocked the stuffing out of the team for the championship season. I know that defeat last year by Offaly was a killer blow to us and it was very hard to pick it up again and get ready for the championship.
âWe played Offaly three times around that period and it became a bit monotonous and we did not pick up the gears that we needed to show our true potential in the championship.
âBut next year we will be in division one and it will make an massive difference for us, because there will be so much more riding on every match and we will be in serious competitive situations every time we go out.â
Galway manager John McIntyre obviously had his mind on other matters on Sunday, but once he heard Wexford had defeated Clare he too later shifted thoughts towards May 29th.
âIf we get ahead of ourselves we could be in trouble, because Wexford got a great psychological boost by beating Clare,â McIntyre said. âThey have been in division two for a couple of years, so they are going to be going into the championship on the front foot and we are not looking beyond that game because I think there is danger written all over it.â
There was much about Galwayâs performance on Sunday to satisfy McIntyre, but he isolated the unquenchable team spirit â which lasted the 70 minutes and which no doubt has been lacking in Galway in recent years.
âWe knew coming into the final that we would have to throw everything into the battle if we hoped to come out on top. And Iâm very proud of the way the lads performed and the quality of the hurling they produced here.
âIâll admit, Iâm thrilled with the performance, and more often than not when you give a performance you get a victory. And the fact that it was a National League final makes it even more special.
âI felt we laid the foundation in the opening half when we played against the wind and turned over leading by four points.
âBut we challenged the players at half-time for Galway to bury this myth that they are not a second-half team. And it was a great team performance.
âWe talked to some individuals in the team during the week and we pointed out that it was no good having the most beautiful stick-men in the world. We need Galway to be more aggressive and we need Galway to stand up against the big counties and the big teams.
âWe all know over the years, before my time, Galway had great stick-men, but we need them too to lay their bodies on the line for the maroon jersey, and that is what they did on Sunday.
âThe last time we were in Thurles we fell away, against Tipperary, and the second-last time we were here we were caught by Waterford. So we had to banish a few demons, and what better way to do it that in a league final against Cork.â
For Clare manager Ger OâLoughlin, losing out on promotion is being handled in the old, philosophical way, probably because there is no other way.
âWe had banked on gaining promotion from this league,â he said, âand we are fiercely disappointed. But now we have to gather ourselves, make our challenge in the championship, and what I hope is that Clare will show our great pride in the Munster Championship against Waterford on June 7th.
âThe squad are young and I would be confident that in two or three years Clare will be strong contenders for the Munster title.
âItâs about building on your experiences, and we did not come away from Thurles on Sunday evening with our heads down.
âThis team is young with plenty of ambition and Iâm right behind them. I would not write our obit just yet.â
The County Board hardly covering themselves in glory here yet again.
From The Wexford People:
WHAT SHOULD have been a welcome boost for hurling in the county turned into a nightmare when the Wexford Under-21 squad boycotted the National League Division 2 final with Clare at Semple Stadium, Thurles, on Sunday afternoon last. And an aggrieved mentor has turned up the heat on the under fire County Board as a result, claiming that one of the main officers is âliving in the pastâ.
Earlier on Sunday afternoon, the Wexford Under-21 hurling side had played Clare in a challenge at The Ragg, but when their request for complimentary tickets to attend the league final was rejected by County Board officers, they decided to return home, having passed by Semple Stadium for a meal in Thurles. Instead the squad took a break on their return journey to the Model county to watch the game on television.
Apparently, the Wexford Under-21 team management had requested complimentary tickets one week earlier to attend the league final as the majority of their squad are students, while the gesture would also have given a boost to the players as they continue intensive preparations for the provincial championship. However, when Under-21 team co-ordinatior Rory Murphy, Vice-Chairman of the County Board, contacted his fellow officers regarding a venue for the meal, he was informed of the name of the hotel but it was also stipulated that no complimentary tickets were available for the players.
Just when it looked as if Wexford hurling had come alive, with a league final victory and a return to Division 1 next season coming after an extra-time victory for the Minors over Offaly one day earlier, the treatment of the Under-21s has threatened to undo a lot of that good work. The serious disenchantment with the manner in which the Association is being directed within the county has now spread through to this group who felt insulted and embarrassed at the treatment they received from county officers.
Last yearâs Minor manager and current Under-21 selector, Paul Dempsey, was stinging in his criticism at the role County Board officers are playing, claiming that they are not promoting hurling but instead placing every available obstacle in the way of team managements to prevent progress.
âRory Murphy, who acts as our team co-ordinator, requested passes for the Under-21 team to attend the league final,â Dempsey explained.
âWe were playing Clare in a challenge game in The Ragg earlier in the afternoon and we saw this as a way to demonstrate to the squad our commitment to them and also our efforts to promote the game of hurling.
âOn Saturday, Rory contacted county officers regarding the venue for the meal. He was given the venue, but told that no passes would be available. We made a decision following the meal to leave Thurles, go home on the team bus, and watch the game on television on the way.â
Dempsey, clearly annoyed at the treatment of the squad, added: âOur County Board has not got a clue how to promote the game or look after county teams, and our County Secretary is living in the past. As a team management we are doing our best. I was with the Minors last year and have just about had enough of them (Board officers).
âAn obstacle, no matter what the request, is always being placed in the way of progress. The biggest problem with hurling is not the players or the team managements, but the County Board.
âWe had two players who gave up night work last Friday, with the resultant loss of wages, just to attend a training session. The majority of our squad are students and they simply have not got the money. We thought the complimentary tickets would have been a great boost to the players, as they are the Seniors of tomorrow.â
With little or no demand for tickets from the Wexford G.A.A. office for the game which attracted a paltry crowd of 14,200, insult was added to injury when it became known that complimentary tickets were posted out to individuals even though they had not sought them in the first place. Ironically, the Under-21 hurling team manager, Tony Dempsey, is the current Irish Officer of the County Board, with the selection team completed by 1996 All-Ireland hero Garry Laffan.
The treatment of the squad and their mentors was condemned out of hand by Coiste na nĂg Chairman, Diarmuid Devereux, who has been openly critical of some of his colleagues on the management committee since his appointment. Describing the decision as âdisgraceâ and âstupidâ, he added that it was a case of âold-fashioned bureaucracy putting the young people of the G.A.A. downâ
.
âItâs an absolute disgrace to put young people on a bus and bring them to play a practice match, and then to slam the door in their faces,â he added.
The matter was expected to get a thorough airing at the monthly County Board meeting last night (Tuesday).
It seems to me Wexford people are starting to rise ever so slowly towards rebellion. The changes needed could be another 2-3 years away, but at least there is a sign that people arenât accepting that kind of horse shite.
Thats some joke in fairness, but CP are just as bad.
Yes Fitzy, if Wexford finish within 5 points of Galway it will be a miracle.