'It gave a young Wexford footballer something to look at. Through my teens, that disappeared'

Wexford captain Liam Coleman says his side are not letting league frustrations seep into the championship. 

Liam Coleman of Wexford after the Allianz Football League Division 4 match against Laois at Chadwicks Wexford Park. Picture: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile

Liam Coleman recalls thinking the referee had blown the final whistle that Sunday in Carrick-On-Shannon. The Leitrim player standing next to the Wexford captain thought the same. Then they both realised that referee Mark Dorrian had awarded a penalty.

In the last play of the game, Ryan O’Rourke scored from the spot to give Leitrim the victory. There was bewilderment for Wexford at the time as to why a penalty had been given. That would turn to considerable frustration five weeks later when it turned out to be the result which separated the two sides in the Division 4 table. On the head-to-head rule, Leitrim were promoted to Division 3 while Wexford remain on the bottom tier rung for 2025.