Gaelic Games

Wexford do enough to quell battling Antrim’s second half comeback

Wexford now look ahead to their meeting with Dublin next weekend

Wexford's Oisín Foley in action against Antrim's Eoghan Campbell. Photograph: Ken Sutton/Inpho
Wexford's Oisín Foley in action against Antrim's Eoghan Campbell. Photograph: Ken Sutton/Inpho
Brendan Furlong
Sat Apr 29 2023 - 20:49

Wexford 1-30 Antrim 1-26

Antrim didn’t produce their best finishing when it mattered, suffering a four point defeat to Wexford on Saturday despite a fine second half showing in their Leinster round-robin encounter at Wexford Park.

While corner-forward Conal Cunning showed tremendous accuracy from placed balls, finishing the game with a personal tally of 0-12, and his team outscored the hosts 0-16 to 0-11 in the second half, it was not enough to salvage a victory.

It was a welcome victory for Wexford in this hard-fought round two game, coming off the back of their disappointing opening round defeat to Galway. While Antrim will see this as an opportunity missed, after carrying the momentum of their draw with Dublin in round one.

Wexford opened with three quick-fire points through Rory O’Connor on the double and Liam Og McGovern, but Antrim responded through Sean Elliott and a Gerard Walsh long free.

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Wexford led 0-6 to 0-3, when James McNaughton levelled the game with a fine goal from an acute angle on 11 minutes. Four minutes later Cathal Dunbar found the Antrim net, after which the sides continued to trade points with Cunning showing excellent accuracy for the visitors. Both Rory and Jack O’Connor then picked off some excellent points leaving Wexford leading 1-19 to 1-10 at the interval.

Neil McManus pointed within seconds of the restart, but Wexford continued to withstand the Antrim challenge still leading 1-23 to 1-15 after 47 minutes. Antrim got on top in the closing 15 minutes, gradually reducing the deficit, and while chances came their way to push on they were unable to apply the finishing touch.

James Lawlor was forced into two quality saves from McManus and Cunning, when a goal would have set them up for victory. Cunning put four points between the teams, 1-29 to 1-25 with three minutes remaining, but Wexford held firm as Antrim sought goals from two close in frees in a tense finish.

“It was a significant two points for us,” explained Wexford manager Darragh Egan. “Especially following the disappointment of the opening game against Galway. We were fully aware that a victory was needed. We took the game to them in the opening half, opened up a significant lead but we would be somewhat disappointed with our second half display.

“The challenge facing us now is to back this up against Dublin next Saturday. That’s another huge challenge.”

While Antrim manager Darren Gleeson reflected on his team’s second half improvement: “They got away from us during the opening stages of the first half. We rushed things, made mistakes which they capitalised upon.

“The second half brought much improvement. We made huge improvements, a lot of things went well, but we still missed some crucial scoring chances. Still we met the challenge in the second half, created chances, and with a little luck close to goal, we could have added a further goal or two.”

WEXFORD: J Lawlor; S Reck, L Ryan, C Devitt; M O’Hanlon, C Foley, S Donohoe (0-1); D O’Keeffe, C Hearne; O Foley (0-4), J O’Connor (0-5), L Og McGovern (0-2); R O’Connor (0-7), L Chin (0-8, 2 frees), C Dunbar (1-2). Subs: Joe O’Connor for Ryan (ht), C McDonald for Hearne (45), K Foley for O’Keeffe (55), M Dwyer for Jack O’Connor (59), R Lawlor (0-1) for Dunbar (68).

ANTRIM: R Elliott; P Burke. R McGarry, N O’Connor (0-1); G Walsh (0-1 free), E Campbell, S Walsh; M Bradley (0-1), S Elliott (0-1); K Molloy (0-1), J Maskey, J McNaughton (1-1); C Cunning (0-12, 8 frees, 3, ‘65s), N McManus (0-3, 0-1 free), C Johnston (0-1). Subs: R McMullan (0-2) for Maskey (32), P Boyle (0-1) for S Walsh (33), E O’Neill for S Elliott (45), S McAuley (0-1) for Johnston (55), D Nugent for Campbell (61).

Referee: M Kennedy (Tipperary)