Positives for Cork but no semi-final place despite defeat of limp Wexford
Kevin Foley of Wexford wins possession during the Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group A match between Wexford and Cork at Chadwicks Wexford Park in Wexford. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Slim pickings in the south east.
A blitzkrieg opening half bought Cork a third consecutive League win. It bought them little else, though.
Kilkenny’s victory over the road in Walsh Park meant Cork were unsuccessful in attempting to jump from fourth to second in the table and securing themselves a semi-final spot in the process.
Cushioning the not so significant blow of missing out on the League’s knockout stages was another Alan Connolly hat-trick, 12 different scorers, more match minutes into Darragh Fitzgibbon on his first start of the year, and a most assertive showing from Ciarán Joyce at the heart of the visiting rearguard.
Out the gap at half-time when leading 2-13 to 0-6, Cork’s urgency and intensity waned considerably at the change of ends. They clipped only three points in the 23 minutes after half-time, Brian Hayes accounting for two of that minuscule third quarter total.
Alan Connolly, having been denied a third goal on three occasions throughout the second period, eventually got his hat-trick in the first minute of injury-time. A black card Eoin Ryan foul on Shane Barrett delivered Cork a penalty which Connolly just about squeezed past Mark Fanning.
Cork began like a team hell-bent on reaching a League semi-final. Or at the very least positioning themselves as prominently as they could for a last-four berth.
Wexford, on the other hand, started and continued like a team who couldn’t care less about the League semi-finals. Their level of disinterest in maintaining their unbeaten start to 2024 was baffling.
The hosts were so inexplicably abject from the off. Even outside of their dreadful shooting, which included three wides and three more short inside the opening 10 minutes, their decision-making and first touch were terrible.
On 27 minutes, Darragh Carley took possession on his own 45-metre line. There was only one Wexford player to aim at inside the opposition 45. Carley dillied and dallied. The crowd groaned impatiently. The inaction greatly irked them.
Carley eventually hit a crossfield ball to Kevin Foley. Foley, though, ran out over the sliotar and Cork promptly secured the turnover.
Cork, in every facet, were sharper. None were sharper than Connolly. After his 3-1 outing against Offaly, Connolly continued to remind hurling folk what Cork had been missing in recent seasons. He had 2-2 scribbled beside his name by half-time.
His opening goal arrived 80 seconds in. Patrick Horgan played the ball across the large parallelogram, Connolly swept to the net. His opening major came part of an unanswered 1-3 from the visitors by the fifth minute.
Connolly’s second on 26 minutes was another piece of collaboration from the north and southside of the city. Eoin Downey launched the delivery, Horgan got a touch, and Connolly applied the finish.
Cork had seven different names on their interval scoresheet, including goalkeeper Patrick Collins and the half-back pair of Joyce and Rob Downey.
They were untroubled in building from the back and could have added another two green flags as Connolly flashed wide and ‘keeper Mark Fanning - one of only three Wexford scorers in the opening half - deflected away a Hoggy drive.
Having hit seven wides in the opening half, Wexford continued their wayward ways in the second period. They had another three wides clocked in the three minutes after the restart.
While they did get first run outs of the year into Liam Óg McGovern and Conor McDonald, they finished with only four scorers and only 1-5 from play in total.
Where Cork will be pleased with how their spring wrapped up, Wexford’s ends on a most apathetic note.
A Connolly (3-2, 1-0 pen); P Horgan (0-8, 0-7 frees); B Hayes (0-2); P Collins, C Joyce, R Downey, T O’Connell, S Harnedy, S Kingston (0-1 free), C Lehane, L Meade, S Barrett (0-1 each).
S Casey (1-9, 0-7 frees); M Fanning (0-3 frees); D Carley (0-2); C Foley (0-1).
P Collins; E Downey, D Cahalane, S O’Donoghue; G Mellerick, C Joyce, R Downey; T O’Connell, D Fitzgibbon; D Dalton, S Harnedy, B Hayes; P Horgan, A Connolly, S Barrett.
L Meade for Fitzgibbon, B Roche for Harnedy (both 48); C Lehane for Dalton (54); S Kingston for Horgan (59); T O’Mahony for R Downey (65).
M Fanning; S Donohoe, C Foley, E Ryan; D Carley, D Reck, M O’Hanlon; C Hearne, S Reck; C McGuckin, K Foley, J O’Connor; C Byrne, S Casey, C Dunbar.
M Dwyer for Dunbar, Liam Óg McGovern for McGuckin (both HT); C McDonald for Byrne (49); T Kinsella for J O’Connor (54); J Doran for K Foley (temporary 56-60); N Murphy for Carley (69).
L Gordon (Galway).
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