National Hurling League, Division 1A: Wexford 1-18 Clare 6-25
The peculiar preoccupations of the NHL delivered a one-sided Division 1A match in Chadwicks Wexford Park. Even allowing for the traditional hurling explanation that small discrepancies on a given day can manifest in disproportionate scoring, this was an unusual hammering.
Clare had been walloped by Limerick a fortnight previously, the scale of their humiliation a little obscured by a late scoreboard rally. Wexford had recorded a routine win over Westmeath. There was little to suggest annihilation.
Brian Lohan was able to welcome back three of his top players, recent All Star perennial Tony Kelly as well as centre back John Conlon and centrefielder Ryan Taylor. Wexford were still short a number of their top players, but still.
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For the first quarter of an hour, the match was agreeably well contested. Goals were swapped between Peter Duggan and Conor McDonald as part of a fluctuating narrative but as soon as Kelly had opened up a goal opportunity for David Reidy in the 15th minute, the deficit yawned and into that chasm slipped Wexford together with any doubt about the outcome.
Lohan was pleased with the showing.
“Yeah, it was a long journey down here and we put a big emphasis on the performance today, especially after the last day. In fairness to the boys, they played really well.”
“I suppose it’s unusual that the conditions were so good. Generally, down here it’s a real tough slog and often this time of the year, weather conditions aren’t brilliant but the condition of the field was excellent so it made for good hurling and moving the ball fairly quickly. It was wide open to get scores there today and that’s how it panned out.”
The return of key operatives worked well for Clare despite the danger of ring-rust. Kelly was energetic and surprisingly sharp even if he contented himself with picking up ball from his own half backs in the second half and moving things along. He also found time for 1-2, the goal one of four Wexford manager Darragh Egan lamented as being essentially turnover gifts.
He was particularly incensed to be 1-6 to 4-17 behind at half-time.
“What I took out of it was we definitely coughed up four goals that we shouldn’t have, coming out with the ball and being turned over. Clare were very efficient – they scored 4-17 in the first half and that’s not acceptable from our perspective. But I must say they were very sharp.”
Only once in that first half did Wexford string together two unanswered scores whereas the visitors roamed at will in apparently endless space, which they eagerly exploited.
Other good news for Clare was the continuing good form of Aidan McCarthy, who missed last year with injury. His free taking has given him the responsibility ahead of Peter Duggan and the returning Kelly and he racked up another big score, 1-10, here – the goal after he profited from a high ball into the defence,
Wexford sporadically responded, largely with placed balls from Ross Banville but they were bailing out only a fraction of the water taken on board.
In the second half they manged to exert a bit more pressure on the scoreboard. Cathal Dunbar fired over three from play. Charlie McGuckin was working away, with a spiky attitude and a couple of points, and Conor Hearne ran an impressive solo for a point in a sequence that saw the home side outscore their opponents 0-7 to 0-2 on the resumption.
They needed something more however. Rory Higgins broke through early on after the resumption but Eamonn Foudy saved well for a 65, which although converted was anti-climactic compared to a goal.
Even the illusion of competitiveness was dispelled by a late goal from Reidy, his second, and substitute Mark Rodgers who rifled a loose ball into the net in the 69th minute.
“Ah sure look,” reflected Lohan afterwards, “I suppose the Limerick game was so bad on a lot of fronts that there was no point in dwelling too much on it. It was a case of resetting and moving on. Sometimes you just have to endure those tough knocks and it was a case of just having to endure that and trying to improve.
“You’d prefer to be more competitive than what we were and when you’re playing real quality opposition, you have to be right every single day and when you’re a little bit off in your approach and the personnel on the field, you can ship a hiding.”
Reminded that Galway and Cork are next up at home, he was enthusiastic. “Yeah, they’ll be coming to Ennis now and it’s something for us to look forward to – really good opposition as well so we look forward to it.”
WEXFORD: James Lawlor; Shane Reck, Simon Donohoe, David Clarke; Conor Foley (0-1), Damien Reck (capt; 0-1), Jack O’Connor; Liam Óg McGovern, Cathal Dunbar (0-3); Conal Flood, Conor Hearne (0-1), Charlie McGuckin (0-2); Rory Higgins (0-1), Conor McDonald (1-0), Ross Banville (0-8, six frees, two 65s). Subs: Ian Carty (0-1) for Foley (45 mins), Corey Byrne Dunbar for McGovern (46), Jack Doran for Flood (55), Eoin Murphy for O’Connor (60).
CLARE: Eamonn Foudy (0-1, free); Adam Hogan (0-1), Conor Cleary, Paul Flanagan; Diarmuid Ryan (0-1), John Conlon, Brandon O’Connell; David Fitzgerald (0-3), Ryan Taylor (0-1); Aidan McCarthy (1-10, six frees), Cathal Malone (0-1), Tony Kelly (capt; 1-2); Ian Galvin (0-2), Peter Duggan (1-1), David Reidy (2-1). Subs: Mark Rodgers (1-0) for Galvin (42 mins), Oran Cahill for Ryan (48), Davy Conroy (0-1) for Malone (55), Aaron Fitzgerald for Flanagan (57), Séadna Morey for Taylor (66).
Referee: Thomas Walsh (Waterford).
