Galway rip Wexford apart to seal Leinster final spot
Galway's Johnny Coen is tackled by Joe OâConnor and Aidan Nolan of Wexford. Picture:Â INPHO/Bryan Keane
Galway won this game. And won it well. Those facts worth repeating given the volley of disgust fired by Davy Fitzgerald at his team were stronger than anything they were hit with on the Croke Park field on Saturday evening.
Shane OâNeill has every reason to be happy with this Galway performance and he took particular pleasure in how the trio he handed Championship debuts - Ăanna Murphy, Fintan Burke and Shane Cooney - repaid his faith. âThey were outstanding and they grew and got better as the game went on.âÂ
OâNeill might also thank Fitzgerald for distracting attention from Galway, especially as there seem to be more questions hanging over their Leinster final opponents Kilkenny right now. For such was the ferocity of the Wexford managerâs assessment of his charges that it, not the challengersâ dominance, became the chief talking point afterwards.
âI suppose for the first time in three and a bit years Iâve been with Wexford we didnât fight,â he opened.Â
âWe threw in the towel. I have to apologise to the Wexford people because weâre not like that. We let them down today, we didnât perform and we hold our hands up âcause we were absolutely terrible. We were shocking. Any team you are over you want them to fight and do whatever. We didnât do that. Thatâs not good enough as far as Iâm concerned.
âThe first 20 minutes we were in it, we probably had two or three goal chances. We retaliated when we shouldnât have retaliated but theyâre small things. As the game went on, they won the 50-50 battles more and the thing that annoys me more was we didnât push in the last 15 or 20 minutes. We just put up the white flag and saw the game out and that is very disappointing. There is no point hiding when you have a performance like that; you man up and you say it as it is.âÂ
Fitzgerald is already being accused of throwing his charges under the bus but these are the same players who twice pleaded with him to remain as manager. Diarmuid OâKeeffe, a sitting All-Star, and Liam Ăg McGovern have been two of Fitzgeraldâs most trusted lieutenants but they were left in the stalls here and were both replaced by the second water break. Conor McDonald failed to fire while even Rory OâConnorâs three points seemed a miserly return for a player of his talent. Either Fitzgerald was stinging his men for their forthcoming qualifier or he considers this is the beginning of the end for a sterling period in charge of Wexford.Â
Level at 0-8 after the first water break, all Wexford saw thereafter were Galwayâs heels, their directness and distribution far too good for the Model men to disrupt. Brian Concannonâs 30th minute goal after he reacted best to a long Joe Canning free that dropped short paved the way for Galway to go into the break six points up, 1-13 to 0-10.
Galway never let up, finishing with nine different scorers from play, and extended their lead to 10 points by the 56th minute. Canning didnât score from play and looked frustrated at times but he more than contributed not just from placed balls but winning frees and teeing up scores. Although Wexfordâs initial shifting in attack confused Galway, once they settled the back-line were dominant where Fintan Burke excelled and Joe Cooney looked steady in his new centre-back berth.
By the end, the inside duo of Concannon and Conor Whelan had scored 1-8 between them, taking over where they left off earlier in the year. âThey worked well in the league as well but I thought the work-rate and the movement from the forwards around them was superb as well to create whatever space was there for them,â said OâNeill.
âIf ever there was a team performance, that was it. The work-rate was superb, the tackling was very good, tracking back. Once we had turned over, we were attacking and we had numbers to transfer to for the man in possession so overall weâre happy enough.âÂ
Whereas Fitzgerald was anything but. âI thought we found it hard to win frees in the first 20 minutes - we were fouled, I thought, two or three times going through and didnât get the frees we deserved. Thatâs fact. Did it make a difference in the game? No way, Galway were the better team 110% but you would like a break or two at the start when you know youâve got inside.
âI think youâll see we did create three or four goal chances at the start which we needed to take. We created very little in the second half, maybe one or two. The boys were telling me inside Galway had 40 scoring opportunities, we had 37 and youâre saying to yourself, âJesus, it doesnât feel like thatâ.âÂ
It sure didnât. Championsâ defences are not supposed to be so powder-puff. Wexfordâs day of reckoning beckons.
The period after the first water break, which Galway won by six points. Foothold gained, foothold maintained and strengthened.
The contrast in performance. Itâs not often a Wexford team under Davy Fitzgerald doesnât stay at the pitch of a game. Galwayâs consistency illuminated Croke Park like the fireworks over it.
: Given he had been waiting so long for his Championship debut as manager, Shane OâNeill must have been busting a gut as much as his players for this one. So much of what has made Galway contenders and champions in recent years was on show here.
The most chastening Championship experience for Wexford in the Fitzgerald era. When Fitzgerald says he doesnât care about the result the next day and just the performance it might be an indication that the relationship could be coming to an end.
Fintan Burkeâs shoulder injury at the end appeared to be a serious knock although Shane OâNeill could offer no update about it afterwards. The two-week gap now may give DaithĂ Burke a chance of lining out against Kilkenny.
The plan to move Joe Cooney to centre-back had been flagged for the last couple of weeks and he didnât look out of place there. Their directness really stood out as Wexford tried to play through the lines. When Wexford were chasing, the lack of forwards close to goal became a real eyesore.
Brian Concannon has looked the part in league games in recent years. Injury has held him back from staking a regular first-team claim but he made a major one here. Burke also looked the part in defence. Lee Chin appeared the only Wexford player capable of asking Galway questions from start to end.
Colm Lyons didnât have a hell of a lot to do after half-time. Galway were able to win frees that bit easier early on but nothing hugely significant. Wexfordâs yellow cards in first half were merited. Joe Canning walked a fine line after his yellow in the second half.
Galway face Kilkenny in Saturday weekâs Leinster final (6:15pm). Wexford will learn their fate in this morningâs qualifier draw and will be out again this or the following weekend.
(Cork).
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