We showed great spirit, says Meyler

THE LAST TIME we spoke to Wexford manager John Meyler he was almost distraught, his team having just been crucified by Kilkenny in the Leinster final.

However, on Saturday, after this underdog win over Tipperary in the All-Ireland quarter-final, it was all smiles. “This showed the spirit, pride, passion and commitment of Wexford hurling,” said Meyler. “All the things that are good about Wexford hurling – the last time you didn’t see that. We spoke for two hours on the Tuesday night after the Kilkenny match; we sat down, it was an honest open conversation, everything was thrown up on the table, people said what they had to say. We went training then on the Thursday night and the level of intensity, the commitment, the effort, was absolutely fantastic. We went up a gear today, we need to go up to fourth gear next week.” Up to fourth, to fifth, to overdrive, because on the basis of their clinical ten-point win over Galway, Kilkenny have already moved on.

An integral part of that gear change will incorporate efficiency, taking your chances. Against Tipperary, Wexford created six chances in the first half, took none. They won’t get that many openings against Kilkenny, so those that come will have to be converted. “Quigley, Barry Lambert had good chances but maybe if we’d got those early on we’d have fallen back. There were goal chances, but then Lambert got a great goal in the second half, he got inside the corner-back, great ball from Rory Jacob. It’s there, you have to admit it’s there, but we need to keep it there, that’s all.”

In the end, it took a 20 metre free goaled by keeper and captain Damien Fitzhenry for Wexford to win this one, but if hurling had an advantage rule, Fitzy would have had a couple of additional opportunities in the first-half, referee James McGrath twice allowing advantage where none accrued. No complaints, says John. “You need to keep hurling going, you need to keep it flowing. I know there are little tug-backs and all that there but you need to keep the game going. If you stop/start it all the time it doesn’t get into a flow – that’s what we needed today, a flow, and we got that.”

Back to the Leinster final, forward to the All-Ireland semi-final. What can Wexford do, to overcome the Kilkenny challenge? There’s a mental block, surely, the Cats hammering more and deeper nails into it every chance they get? “No there’s not,” says John, before accepting otherwise – “!this win gives you confidence about winning tight games. We hunted, we worked our socks off, and you saw that against Galway in the league quarter-final, then we went missing in the semi-final against Kilkenny, again in the Leinster final. There’s something there somewhere, we need to find it again.”

Progress was also on the mind of Keith Rossiter, a star performance on Saturday at full-back. “Everyone’s aim is the All-Ireland final. I suppose people in Wexford, people all around Ireland, didn’t expect a lot out of us but we knew we had it in us, we had an inner belief.”

But, next Sunday, Kilkenny – how do you explain what happens to Wexford when they meet?

“There’s no explaining it, one of those days – hopefully we won’t have another one the next day, we’ll be doing our best to counteract it.”

Hopefully, hopefully, hopefully, but you need more than hope against the All-Ireland champions.