Fitzhenry upbeat despite Slaneysiders’ exit

DAMIEN FITZHENRY wasn’t too despondent at yet another defeat at the hands of their great Leinster rivals Kilkenny in yesterday’s All-Ireland SHC semi-final.

“The margin was five points less than the Leinster final,” said the Wexford captain. “But it was still a heavy defeat.

“We knew coming up here that we had a lot of ground to make up. The start we got was perfect, maybe we should have had a few more scores before Kilkenny finally settled, and once they did, it was always going to be very difficult for us.

“They are an exceptional team who look likely All-Ireland winners now.

“I’d like to think we really put it up to them, particularly in the first half, but we needed to stay close to them to have any chance.

“Unfortunately, the game ran away from us in the second half.

“You can’t fault our defence. I thought they did brilliantly. There wasn’t a hint of a Kilkenny goal throughout the game. There are a number of positive we can take from the game despite the defeat. For one we defended well, didn’t concede a goal, got one ourselves and might have had another had we been a bit more direct.

“We certainly have something to build on. We’ll sit down some time in the future and examine our season. If anyone had said at the start of the season Wexford would be in the league and Championship semi-final we would have settled for that.

“Wexford hurling is in transition. It’s been a good season, relatively speaking, but we now need to build on what we have achieved.”