Rossies dig deep to keep pace with Slaneysiders

NOT exactly the outcome that would have been expected, certainly not from a Wexford side which contested the All-Ireland semi-final last season and whose continued participation in the GAA football championship may be in even greater doubt as a result of having to face resurgent Roscommon in Hyde Park, possibly in midweek.

Wexford manager Jason Ryan couldn’t be accused of hyperbole in saying that the ball was like “a bar of soap” because the conditions were horrendous. The temptation would have been to describe this first meeting between the counties as a comedy of errors because there were so many errors over 90 minutes of play, but that would be grossly insulting to the efforts of 42 players who put in such a marathon effort.

The irony was that it began with a perfectly executed goal from Ciaran Lyng 15 seconds after the throw-in and that the St Martin’s dual player only managed two pointed frees from a succession of scoring opportunities. Likewise, on the opposing side, ex-minor Donal Shine had something of an off-day with his free-taking.