I am going in hope
Very disappointed, guys. We were aerially dominated for large parts (as feared) but Galway were very impressive generally in the second half. Missing the penalty was also a big moment as I think they scored 5 points on the spin after it to push out to 8 in front when a goal then would have levelled it. I think weâre progressing along the right lines but we need more physical power in our back 7 and we missed raw pace upfront without either McGovern or Dunne. Our 5 attackers couldnât really pierce through the Galway back line enough and they defended better than I expected. As for WexfordâŚ
Fanning: Clean sheet but still capable of slack moments. I counted 3 (three) points he was partially to blame for - throwing it up in someoneâs face in the first half when Murphy needlessly handpassed it back to him, fumbling a ball out for a pointed 65 under pressure from Whelan and hitting a short puck out over the sideline which Canning pointed. Heâs been our penalty taker throughout the league and scored one in Salthill so surprised he didnât hit it today. He took a bad one in the league semi final and struck a rocket off the post in the quarter final against Kilkenny so maybe missing his last two was taken into account?
Devereux: Had a nightmare on Cooney at the start. Beaten for height, power and pace and was taken for 3 points straight away. Did better when moved out onto Flynn and showed a bit of character to maraud forward for a point later in the first half. Stuck to it gamely but quite limited.
Ryan: Defended well on Niall Burke in the first half. Was the last of our 3 (three) defenders to have a go at nullifying Cooney when he went on him in the second half and didnât really manage to get the better of him. Did fine overall though.
Breen: Picked up Whelan as I suggested (commentatorâs eye - âCEâ) he would but too prone to fouling. I donât think Whelan scored today but Breen fouled him on 2 or 3 occasions as a first resort rather than last, if you get my drift. Typically sticky and dogged though - a real specialist corner back.
Donohoe: Was doing fine on Flynn early on but was switched onto Cooney when Devereux was in serious bother and struggled on him. Ultimately taken off but tried hard. Didnât see him getting forward to good effect like in the previous games.
OâHanlon: Our STAR MAN. Completely shut out Canning from open play. As I predicted (CE), he followed Canning everywhere knowing we had (in theory) the sweeper to hold the centre behind him. So he went right back with him when Canning tried to play make from deep. Pretty much won every duel with Canning in open play and knocked over 2 (two) excellent points from play in the first half. He had a couple of rough outings at full back over the years but this centre back roll under Davy is going really well for him.
OâKeeffe: Scored 1-1 and has probably been our best player this season up to now but he was a bit below that level today. Still got forward to very good effect on occasion but found it hard to cope with Joe Cooney in the air. Was moved into midfield late on and was still pushing forward to the end.
Murphy: Didnât think he had a great game today. Didnât really provide as much cover or help as the spare defender as some of his colleagues needed and was mixed in possession. Maybe need to look at his positioning in the role and see if weâre getting the best from it.
Chin: Was pretty influential in the first 25 minutes with some good ball winning and set up play. Went out of it for a spell either side of half time and we suffered. He pointed the 65 after the missed penalty and it made me wonder why he doesnât hit all our frees from 45 yards out. I think heâs a better long range free taker than McDonald.
OâConnor: Got a good point in the first half and made a very good block under the Cusack Stand at one stage too. Kind of went out of it though and was replaced at half time (I think).
Morris: Got a lovely opening point after great work by Chin and another nice first half point after a smashing diagonal pass by McDonald but faded quite noticeably as the game progressed. Fumbled and dropped a couple of balls in the second half and Hanbury got on top of that dual.
Nolan: Like OâConnor he had a few good moments but not enough. Burst through and had the shot / won the penalty but wasnât that influential otherwise. He ended up at half back on Joe Cooney for a while when OâKeeffe was released forward.
McDonald: Had a pretty effective first half with two decent points from play and some other good moments and an assist or two. It didnât go too well for him in the second half though with the missed penalty being particularly crucial though he played a lovely pass to Nolan in the move which led to it. He missed two fairly tricky frees - one in each half - but I think thereâs better free takers than him in the team.
Guiney: Battled gamely against the excellent Daithi Burke. Did brilliantly for the goal and put himself about but found it very difficult to shake off his marker to get his own shots off. Good to have him back though and they might consider letting him hit frees the next day.
Kehoe: Worked away tirelessly too but found it hard to make a real impression. It was tough up there with Galway having the spare defender and Harte playing the role very well. As I said, we didnât really have scorching pace in the five upfront so it was hard to open up space back there.
Redmond, Moore, Dunbar (nice point) and Tomkins were all okay when they came on. I thought we could have sprung Rory OâConnor late on for him to get a taste of championship action. I donât think we need to rip up the script but we need to 1) see if weâre using the sweeper as effectively as we can, 2) check if we can bring in someone physically dominant and stronger under the high ball into the defence to give the rest of them a dig out (how bad is Shoreâs shoulder injury?) and 3) consider mixing it up a little upfront to get more pace and another finisher into the team (will Dunne be fit for the quarter final? How about Dunbar or Rory OâConnor from the start?) As I said beforehand (CE), we had 12 (twelve) definite starters and the 3 (three) other positions didnât go all that well for us today. We also needed a bit more from that middle third OâConnor, Chin and Nolan axis. As an aside, there was a lot of attractive Wexford ladies at the game today - where did they spring out of? Looking forward to checking out the new PĂĄirc UĂ Chaoimh in a few weeks now. FAO of @anon7035031 - I think thatâs 17 (seventeen) paragraphs - a start, a finish and one (1) for each of the players.
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Wexford looked better as they ran at Galway. They were cleaned out in the half forward line, and youâll very very rarely/ never win a match if that happens.
Galway were upside down today funnily enough, very very good at the back, less so up front, but they won that game pulling up, and will be hard for anyone to beat. They are a great side now.
Wexford, in my opinion, can take encouragement from this and push on. I hope thatâs what they do.
There was an act of foul play which should really be sanctioned now, with the broken stick jab to the face, however. Very close to the eye.
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The moronic wexican crowd roaring Deverix instead of Devereux sapped the confidence of he Wexford team, a shame really. The battle was actually won in the end of the first half when Galway went from two points down to tree points ahead at half time, when Wexford had done all the hurling. We just closed down the game after that. The two Cooneysâs were exceptional from r the first time this year with 9 (nine) points from play I believe.
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Arenât we all Joe
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Wasnât there a wexford lad who tried cut the head of a Dublin player with a broken hurl a few years back. Or was it the other way round?
Think it was the other way around and it was the same game where Andrew Shore was sent off for winding on some ladâs head under a puck out. In fact he may have been winding in response to the stabbing. Was it yer man McCormack or something?
Galway player was v lucky that didnât turn out worse. Will surely get suspended for it alright albeit I donât know if he meant much by it tbh
You havenât a fucking clue.
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IF THE DYKE WAS PLAYING CENTRE FORWARD, MAYBEâŚ
Thatâs who it was. There was a good bit of bitterness between yourselves and the dubs back then.
I thought weâd have kept it closer than that. @bandage has nicely summarized things for all the players and little else to add to that. Deueroux isnât good enough, Morrisey drifts in and out too often and Harry Kehoe is being shoe horned into a position he doesnât usually play. Canât for the life of me understand why McDonald hits frees. And same for the penalty.
In general tho, itâs still a work in progress. There is enough positives to build on.
As for Galway, I hope to fuck they win it this year. I was at their last winning final and at all their football ones, and itâs one county I like to see do well. Harmless sorts etc⌠But this year they have a huge chance to win out. Clear favourites and for a reason. Better make the most of it now
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Nobody in Dublin cares about hurling mate
How would you know, youâre from fingal
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Congrats to Galway better team on the day and brilliant in the air, they really have to win the big one this year. Hopefully Wexford build on this now and head into the qualifers with a bit of confidence. Its year 1 of Davy Fitz and I think weâll get there in a few years.
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It looked like a thoughtless heat of the moment thing, but it was poor enough.
These things are rarely premeditated. Just lads wound up.
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I work in Dublin
Would that excuse work in a court of law?
is that what you tell them in Kuala Lumpur 
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Heâs a good gaa man.
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