Wexford Football final/Starlights 1-10 Sarsfields 0-6: Starlights laid claim to the Wexford senior football title after a poor-quality final with Sarsfields at Wexford Park yesterday.
Sarsfields - after their marvellous semi-final victory over the champions Kilanerin - fell flat on the big day, and in a game dominated by errors, the Enniscorthy town side did not need football of any real quality to emerge with a comfortable victory.
The Starlights' victory margin could have been far greater but for the fact they missed numerous goal chances, while at the opposite end Philip Cullen had a 43rd-minute penalty saved by Jason Russell when a goal would have left Sarsfields just two points adrift despite being dominated up to then.
Starlights led 0-5 to 0-1 at the interval, captain and full forward John Hudson kicking three of those points, with Declan Ruth and Willie Hudson also on the mark, while the Sarsfields' solitary reply was a 17th-minute Cullen pointed free.
When Starlights raced into a 1-6 to 0-2 lead within nine minutes of the restart, the goal a brilliant run and finish from John Hudson, they looked to be cruising. But they let the initiative slip and the Wexford town side responded with points from Kieran Kelly, their first score from play, and Emmet Keeling, to leave five points in it, 1-6 to 0-4. The penalty miss, however, ended their comeback.
Starlights went on to kick four successive points, but should have had a goal late on from Ruth, who, amazingly, kicked wide with only the keeper to beat.
STARLIGHTS: J Russell; P Murphy, M Gahan, O O'Connor; M Quigley, A Fenlon, L Boland; D Ruth (0-1), R Quigley; T Wall, O Kinlough, W Hudson (0-1); A Russell (0-1), J Hudson (1-7, 5 frees), T Mahon. Subs: D. O'Brien for W Hudson; E Furlong for A Russell; M Donohoe for Mahon.
SARSFIELDS: J Roice; B Mulligan, P Harrington, C Callery; N Sheil, M Hanrahan, D Gannon; J Harrington, K Kelly (0-1); E Keeling (0-1), B Goff (0-1), C Bent (0-1); P Cullen (0-2 frees), C O'Leary, K Gore. Subs: P Dowdall for Sheil; D Foley for Gannon; J Foley for Gore; D Clancy for Cullen.
Referee: S Whelan (St Martin's).
