Wexford survive Antrim offensive

Wexford 2-15, Antrim 2-12

Wexford were on their knees in an electrifying Guinness All-Ireland SHC quarter-final, but though their opponents were staggering, Antrim were unable to deliver the killer punch.

Twelve wides in an otherwise controlled first-half display, plus the concessions of crucial frees late in the day cost the Ulster champions dearly. The pity for Manager Dinny Cahill is that there is no second-chance system for them another outing in Croke Park would surely improve them still further. Cahill admitted: "we made mistakes and were punished to the hilt for them." His Wexford counterpart, John Conran, was equally philosophical: "Antrim had us on the rack, but we got the rub of the green and that was crucial in determining the outcome of this game."

How correct in his assessment he was. With injured full-back Darragh Ryan a huge loss, the rearranged Wexford defence, particularly the full-back line of Colin Kehoe, David O'Connor, and Dave Guiney, were all at sea early on as Antrim came out with all guns blazing. Antrim had a goal disallowed in the first minute when after right-corner-forward Liam Watson billowed the Wexford net. However, his supplier, Brian McFall, was deemed to have been inside the square when he gained possession in the first instance.

Compounding their frustration was a succession of missed opportunities with a successfully converted 65 from wing-back Ciaran Herron which wiped out Wexford's lead point by Michael Jacob all they had to show for their invigorating play. It was a meagre return.

With Karl McKeegan serving up one of the best exhibitions of centre-back play seen at headquarters for quite some time and Conor Cunning and Jim Connolly on song at midfield, Antrim dominated territorially.

Wexford were forced to live off scraps and to their credit, they managed to do so due to the cavalier contribution of full-forward Larry Murphy. In what was tantamount to a heel against the head, Wexford led by 0-6 to 0-3, after 25 minutes of frenetic play.

However, the game then underwent a remarkable transformation in Antrim's favour, as their scoring luck turned with two goals within a minute, to give them a 2-5 to 0-6 lead at half-time.

Wexford were manifestly stunned by this sucker punch, with both goals resulting from defensive errors; the first when goalkeeper Damien Fitzhenry failed to catch Herron's 65 and finger-tipped the ball over his own line and the second by centre-back Declan Ruth, who allowed a cross from Brian McFall to run into the path of team captain Colm McGuckian.

When McFall pointed a free three minutes after the resumption to give Antrim a two-goal advantage, the full extent of Wexford's well of resilience, so evident against Waterford, was about to be tested again.

In fairness to them, this Wexford side possess an admirable abundance of character, but they owe their deliverance on this occasion to three players in particular skipper Paul Codd, midfielder Rory McCarthy and ageless wonder Larry Murphy.

Codd set up Chris "Hopper" McGrath for the goal that brought Wexford back from the brink. McCarthy worked his socks off and ran himself into the ground in his successful efforts to win more possession for his side, while Murphy continued to be a real thorn in the side of an excellent Antrim defence, in which McKeegan was the star and with Michael Kettle and Ciaran Herron playing massive supporting roles.

Wexford reduced the deficit to the bare minimum, but before they could push for home they were stopped in their tracks by the surprise packet of the afternoon Antrim sub Aidan Delargy.

With his first touch, Delargy pointed and went on to score three more with great panache. Where was he in the first half, everybody wondered.

Due to the exciting scoring exploits of Delargy, Antrim led by three points with six minutes of normal time remaining and distinctly looked to be on their way to a semi-final. But as today's intros were being penned, Wexford again failed to see the headlines of their demise least of all, Paul Codd.

First he pointed a free and then in the 65th minute, the inspirational Wexford captain blasted home the all-important goal from a 20-metre free. Wexford had regained the lead for the first time since the game's 7th minute and Antrim's admirable and gallant challenge died in the ruins of what could have been an heroic victory.

Scorers, Wexford: P Codd 1-7 (1-5 frees), C McGrath 1-0, L Murphy 0-3, R Jacob 0-2, M Jacob, R McCarthy, B Lambert 0-1 each.

Antrim: C Herron 1-2 (1-1 65), C McGuckian 1-1, A Delargy 0-4, B McFall 0-2 (0-1 free), J Watson, C Richmond, G O'Kane 0-1 each.

WEXFORD: D Fitzhenry, C Kehoe, D O'Connor, D Guiney, D Stamp, D Ruth, L Dunne, R McCarthy, L O'Gorman, P Codd, M Jordan, M Jacob, C McGrath, L Murphy, R Jacob. Subs. B Lambert for Jordan, K Rossiter for Kehoe, T Mahon for O'Gorman, A O'Leary for McGrath.

ANTRIM: D Quinn, M Kettle, K Kelly, J Campbell, M McCambridge, K McKeegan, C Herron, C Cunning, J Connolly, P Richmond, C McGuckian, L Richmond, L Watson, G O'Kane, B McFall. Subs. A Delargy for McFall, M Herron for Connolly, M Molloy for Cunning.

Referee: P Horan (Offaly).