DIVISION TWO FINAL/Wexford 1-16 Clare 2-9:SO WEXFORD finally reclaim the top-table place which they relinquished so bitterly three years ago. It took a hard scrabble win over a young Clare side at Semple Stadium to secure a first division future though.
A game between the two great breakthrough sides of the mid-90s for the right to escape the badlands of Division Two should perhaps have had more edge to it than this one had.
Clare, who had been unbeaten in Division Two, had resisted calls through the spring for a mass drafting of last year’s under-21 side to the senior ranks. Yesterday though half the side were still young enough to be using their first razor and the inexperience showed. Wexford had more fight and more guile.
That was never better illustrated than with the injury-time goal from corner-forward Rory Jacob which wrapped matters up yesterday. A long hopeful ball form the Wexford 45 should have been ushered out of harm’s way but instead goalkeeper Phillip Brennan and corner-back Domhnall O’Donovan formed a committee to fooster over the ball until such time as it sprang loose for Jacob to pull on. Deal done.
It had seemed for long periods as if Wexford’s prodigality would cost them dearly. They trailed by a point at the break despite having done the better hurling until then.
A series of wides had left them a point up when a puck out from the Clare goal cleared the Wexford defence and Colin Ryan pulled sweetly but optimistically from 21 yards. The ball found the net and it took a free from the magnificent Gizzy Lyng to get Wexford back to within a point at the break.
Lyng, Wexford’s captain, was at the heart of everything good that his side did and whenever Clare threatened to liberate themselves and open their shoulders a little it was Lyng who pulled Wexford back into it every time.
Clare stretched their lead immediately after the break with a quick point from Darach Honan before an uninterrupted string of four points from Wexford seemed to settle the pattern of the half.
Clare retained the capacity to trouble the Wexford defence when they seriously put their minds to it, however, and a Diarmuid McMahon point brought them closer before John Conlon, impressive throughout at centre forward, latched onto a fumbled ball in the Wexford square, pulled once, and pulled again the ball apparently crossing the line somewhere in the excitement as Conlon had wheeled away clenching his fists in celebration some seconds before the umpire reached for the green flag.
Again though it was Lyng who led the comeback, responding instantly with a point. Colm Farrell followed suit and Wexford found themselves back on level terms within two minutes.
Deservedly so too. They were playing the crisper and more inventive hurling, spraying the ball around and moving hard for each other while Clare toiled with ball played down the middle and dug out in wars of attrition and muscle.
It was enthralling from there to the end. Wexford pushed two ahead. A couple of Colin Ryan frees hauled them in again and then a sublime sideline cut from Lyng with two minutes left seemed to have decided matters in the most elegant way possible.
For a game marked by inaccuracy suddenly everybody was a marksman. Jonathan Clancy levelled with a fine point under pressure and we hit full-time. Wexford were unflustered. Lyng’s friend and club-mate Eoin Quigley tossed over a fine point from out on the right wing and just as matters grew intolerably fraught Rory Jacob stole the injury-time goal which ended Wexford’s exile.
For Clare it was a cruel illustration of the gulf between being an excellent underage side and being effective seniors.
A twist of the screw at the right time would have brought them the reward which their regular season play deserved.
Wexford had sufficient greybeards to haul them out of the fire though and Clare’s bad day got worse when young Honan appeared to get a second yellow just on time.
WEXFORD: N Carton; P Roche, K Rossiter, C Kenny; R Kehoe, D Stamp, M Travers; H Kehoe, C Farrell (0-3); A Shore, E Quigley (0-1), D Lyng (0-7 four frees one sideline); Rory Jacob (1-2), S Banville (0-1), P Atkinson (0-1). Subs: PJ Nolan (0-1) for Shore (half-time), M Jacob for Atkinson (52 mins), L Prendergast for Roche (63 mins), T Mahon for Banville (65 mins).
CLARE: P Brennan; P Vaughan, C Dillon, D O’Donovan; G Quinn, M Murphy, P Donnellan; N O’Connell, B O’Connell; C O’Donovan, J Conlon (1-2), J Clancy (0-1); D McMahon (0-2), D Honan (0-1), C Ryan (1-3, two frees). Subs: S Collins for Quinn (8 mins), F Lynch for O’Donovan (43 mins), B Bugler for Murphy (45 mins), A Markham for McMahon (62 mins).
Referee: J Ryan (Tipperary).
