Doyle says Wexford have no fear of Rebels

While Cork have had to win four games to reach tomorrow’s All-Ireland IHC final at Nowlan Park (3pm), their opponents Wexford have had just one.

With only the Model County and Kilkenny in Leinster, the provincial final on July 23 was effectively an All-Ireland semi-final. While manager Larry Doyle admits there is a slight element of going into the unknown as a result, he sees no reason to fear the Rebels.

“We were saying it amongst ourselves,” he said, “if Kilkenny were going to play Cork in the final, I’m sure they’d be expecting to win.

“We’re definitely saying to ourselves that we’ve no inferiority complex, there’s no-one in Wexford giving us a chance, some of local media friends are anything but friendly to us.

“As far as we’re concerned, we’re going out to do a job. We’ve done half of it, it’s not our fault that there’s nobody in Leinster except Kilkenny and ourselves.”

In the Leinster decider, Wexford opened up a seven-point lead in as many minutes and withstood a Kilkenny onslaught in the second half.

“When you get a good start like that, it builds confidence,” Doyle said.

“It meant that we had a lead going in at half-time but Kilkenny were always going to come back at us, I think they got seven points on the trot at one stage.

That the summer has been a fruitful one for the county at both senior and U21 level has helped the feelgood factor to seep through to the intermediates as well, Doyle believes.

“There’s a strong element of that,” he said.

“Certainly, when we went to play Kilkenny, the U21s had a few victories and the seniors were on the crest of a wave at that stage. There was a feelgood factor around the county and we were determined to be the first not to burst the bubble.

“In the second half of the Leinster final the supporters got very vocal and it definitely helped us.”

Experience also helped them to pull through, with a goal from Redmond Barry – who retired from playing senior football last year – key to the win. Doyle is keen to focus on the positives of having players who have played at a high level, despite criticisms.

“We’re getting a bit of flak from people calling us the golden oldies,” he said.

“There are a few lads who are 33 or 34, but we have a few in the mid-20s too. A few senior lads were available and I asked them if they’d be interested in playing.

“These are lads with great leadership, the likes of Mick Jacob and Red Barry, so if they agreed to play hurling for us then I wasn’t going to turn them down

“You’ve had years of experience with Wexford but go off into the long grass now and fade away. They wanted to contribute and they’re able to do it, so I welcome them. Whatever will beat us on Saturday, it won’t be age.”