Ryan’s delight as Longford keep the ball rolling

The rise of Longford football continued on Saturday night in Croke Park.

For the second successive season, Glenn Ryan’s men are walking away from the league campaign with divisional silverware secured and promotion to a higher tier attained.

They got the better of Wexford in an odd game of contrasts here with a fantastic first-half display propelling them into a 10-point advantage in the interval. Yet they had to withstand a stirring revival by Wexford after the break that trimmed the margin to two points by the finish. It was an occasion to cherish for Ryan as his players gear up for their opening championship assignment against Laois “I’m delighted because there are a lot of players who went through the hardship so I think they appreciate it more now,” remarked the Longford boss. “They have used those disappointments and turned them into positives and probably become stronger individuals as a result. But I’m not just here to put trophies in the cabinet. There has to be a long-term aim as to what we are trying to do here and at least are doing our best that the lads that are coming through are part of a set-up that is ambitious.”

There were several impressive facets to Longford’s success. The outstanding marksmanship of Sean McCormack was integral to their first-half dominance, with the Emmet Óg clubman hitting eight points on the night, while captain Paul Barden gave an exemplary display from centre-forward. The match provided further evidence of Michael Quinn’s role, with the former AFL star controlling the game from centre-back. Substitute Paul Kelly’s fine soccer-style finish to the net after a delightful through ball by Brian Kavanagh rounded off the first half in great fashion for Longford.

Wexford turned things around in notable fashion in the second half. Substitutes Rory Quinlivan at midfield and Shane Roche in attack made key differences in their sectors. Marquee names like Redmond Barry and Ciaran Lyng started to exert greater influence while Graeme Molloy anchored their challenge at the back. All over the pitch, there was a greater intensity, intelligence and purpose to Wexford’s play.

They fell short in the end though. By the 52nd minute they were still 1-12 to 0-7 adrift but kept Longford scoreless in the closing stages. Roche, Adrian Flynn, Barry, Eric Bradley and Lyng all raised white flags but the deficit proved too great to bridge, as Wexford had left themselves with too much to do. They did not seriously threaten Damien Sheridan’s goal which cost them and there were a few poor selections when in possession in attack near the finish. Yet despite defeat manager Jason Ryan at least departed in an optimistic state after their second-half showing.

“It was blatantly obvious in the first half that we were giving away too much cheap ball,” stated Ryan. “But the players that went on were more direct, hungry and that paid off. Every time you lose, it’s a knock. But the plus is that we lost because we know we didn’t play as well as we’re capable of playing. In the past, we’ve shown that when we lose games we come back better.”

Scorers for Longford: S McCormack 0-8 (0-5f), P Kelly 1-0, P Barden 0-3, B Kavanagh 0-1.

Scorers for Wexford: C Lyng 0-4 (0-3f), R Barry 0-3 (0-1f), S Roche 0-2, A Flynn, B Brosnan, E Bradley, P J Banville 0-1 each.

Subs for Longford: P Kelly for P McCormack (34), J McGivney for N Mulligan (59), P Foy for Keegan (67), F McGee for McElligott (70).

Subs for Wexford: L Chin for Murphy (inj) (20), R Quinlivan for Shore (45), P Byrne for Brosnan (45), S Roche for Morris (50), C Carty for Bradley (71).

Referee: Conor Lane (Cork).