‘We’re just blessed to still be there,’ says McCarthy
The fact that Kilkenny, Tipperary, Cork and Wexford in that order filled the top four positions at the end of the Allianz National League is seen as a testament to their serious approach to the competition.
Nicky Brennan, chairman of the national hurling committee, regards it as a further validation of the new-style league format introduced this season.
"The teams that want to do well in the championship are those who do well in the league," he commented yesterday.
"When counties say they are not interested in the competition, it's almost like saying that they are not interested in improving their teams."
He expressed the view that both Limerick and Waterford appeared to be somewhat in disarray during the league and didn't manage to recover when it came to the championship.
Meanwhile, Rory McCarthy, who was Wexford's star performer in their unconvincing win over Antrim, readily accepts that they are lucky enough to be still involved in the championship.
"We're just blessed to be there," he said."We have no excuses. We just didn't play well. Our first-half performances have been poor all year.
"A lot of people expected us to win, but, we were not that confident at all. We knew that Antrim were good and we expected a tough battle.
"We were pure blessed to get out with a win at the end of the day. We didn't hurl well and Antrim didn't hurl particularly well either. The two goals before half-time changed the game.
"We're in an All-Ireland hurling semi-final against Cork. We'll have to hurl an awful lot better. If we don't, Cork will do the same as Tipperary did to Offaly."
McCarthy, one of the links with the All-Ireland winning team of 1996 that was captained by Martin Storey, exerted a major influence on the game in the second half.
Specifically, his ability to read the game enabled him to win a good deal of possession. During the first half, it was a different story, he explained.
"There wasn't much play out around there. With the new hurling ball, it's really carrying over midfield. If you can get on to a few breaks, that's the idea. In the second half a lot of ball broke."
Ultimately, he agreed that Paul Codd's late goal from a 21-yards free (his second in a matter of minutes) which decided the game. At the time Wexford were two points in arrears and, with time remaining, safe option would have been to put the ball over the bar.
"Everyone in the whole place knew he was going for a goal," added McCarthy, alluding to the fact that Codd had signalled this by taking off his helmet.
"If that hadn't gone in, Antrim would have won. It's as simple as that. We got the goal and went ahead by a point. We didn't look back. Up that it was a struggle, we never got going. Antrim never let us hurl."
Players and management appreciate the magnitude of the task confronting them. And, they accept it will be more difficult if they will be missing full-back Darragh Ryan and midfielder Adrian Fenlon.
"They are big losses. I don't even know if they will be back because Darragh has a bad break in his hand and Adrian has a torn hamstring. I'd say we'll have to plan without them."
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
