We look fairly fucked for the next few years. A few of those very good servants (who admittedly are past their best) are likely to bow out at the end of the season and we don’t have much coming through. Or am I wrong?
There is quite a decent bunch coming through I reckon. However, the biggest issue is the middle group who should now be the experienced elders on the team. There is fuck all there from the U21 Leinster winning team who are 26/27 now. These should be the ones carrying the team now being at optimum peak levels for intercounty ages. But harping back to Jason Ryans time, he never integrated any youth or turnover into the team at all and the vast majority around that age were never brought through. So you are left with a hape of older lads the other side of 30 and then a hape of young lads under 22. David Power at least made big efforts in trying to get a young developing side going. A mix of Ryan and Power would have been good at the time, keep the team winning but not forgetting about bringing lads through. Ryan spent years working with pretty much the same bunch of players and when his time was up, we were left with an ageing team and nothing to take over from them.
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BREAKING: Shaun Murphy is grand.
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Delighted to hear that. Ye can have no excuses now.
There’s about 400 at the football. Roughly 37 from Wexford.
It’s live on RTE Radio One
The ghost of Portlaoise 2011 is well and truly buried.
Well done to Wexford, Banty and all the boys.
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I’m very pleased for our players today, chaps. I think a sprinkling of them might retire at the end of the season and the experienced stalwart types deserved to get at least one last championship win. Malone, Flynn, Waters and Banville all had big games.
Mick Furlong came forward to kick two superb first half points (1 left and 1 right) but Flynn missed a gilt edged goal chance. He stole in to intercept a short kick out to the side, played a 1-2 and bore down on goal but the keeper tipped his rasping shot over. It was 7-5 at that stage but we got away with it when Corbett blazed a pelanty high and over the bar. 7-7 at half time against the breeze.
We came out and controlled the first part of the second half but it was frustrating that we didn’t convert it into scores initially. Banville dropped a free and an attempt from play into the keeper’s arms and I was thinking he’d get hooked. But then he knocked over two fantastic points from distance.
Limerick missed a 21 yard free (Collins or O’Carroll) before we missed two good chances (Nolan into keeper’s arms and Lyng from wide out free) to push the gap out to three. It looked dodgy then after they kicked 2 points to level it up at 9-9.
John Tubritt scored a quality point after coming on but they responded and then Lyng kicked his second point from play to put us back in front. This was another cracking score - a line ball on the right, knocked back to Waters, received the ball on the wrap around (cc @Sidney) and lofted a trademark left footed, high, curling shot over.
Some Limerick chap equalised again before we scored the winner at the start of 3 minutes’ injury time. We worked the ball forward patiently and Banville was soloing across the '45 from left towards centre when the Limerick #10 recklessly leg tripped him. Banville got up and pointed the pressure free from his hands.
Limerick had been pretty wasteful in possession all through - we generally allowed them have the short kick out but their moves often broke down through a mix of sloppy passing and good defending. Their shooting was quite wayward too and they missed two goal chances in the second half.
Anyway, back to injury time. Their #19 Lee had been brought on and earlier kicked a free. But he missed a free from relatively wide out on the right with his right foot from around 25 yards out. Conor Carty was caught dallying on the resulting kick out and Seanie Buckley manufactured a free from wide on the left on the 21. Lee again kicked this one wide out of his hands on the near post.
We just needed to win one fucking kick out and take the ball downfield. But Limerick broke forward again after a load of players were battling under the kick out and resulting break. They worked it up the left, then infield a bit and back to Corbett who sliced a wild point attempt out towards the corner flag. The referee blew for full time as a gang of players were sprinting after the ball.
Banty was pumped on the sideline at full time and gave a load of fist pumps before exchanging manly handshakes with his backroom team. A great win for my beloved Wexford.
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You are a fantastic supporter
We are both great people.
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Great report. Wasn’t able to make it down again, but heard a few of the Wexford lads seemed to tire noticeably in second half?
Yeah, we tired alright. We have that over reliance on our older players but don’t have great depth in the squad so it’s tricky enough to manage.
A fired up Banty on South East Radio there. 
Our first football qualifier win away from home since 2006…when Paul Bealin’s Model Men defeated Banty McEneaney’s Monaghan 8-6 in a torrential Clones downpour. That was a fantastic day too when Matty Forde stood up to some rough treatment from opponents and supporters after he’d accidentally stepped on an Offaly’s player’s head in our Leinster semi-final defeat.
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That was some day. Diarmuid Kinsella was immense.
When is the next round on pal?
8th July, mate.
I had a feeling Banty was bullshitting when he mentioned this stat in his radio interview but I stupidly regurgitated it. Let it be a lesson to all young posters to verify information before repeating it. Sure I was at the game in Galway when we beat them in 2010. I think we also beat Longford away from home in the qualifiers a few years back.
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Yea we bet longford after extra time that day. Big shemozle at the end of normal after a certain st james’ player flattened paul barden …
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What year was that? 2012 or 2013 maybe? Can you name the player in question?
I’d say there was only one St James’ player that featured that day.
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