Even if Leinster's round-robin format militates against the impact of shock championship results, Wexford's defeat of Longford at New Ross has to register as a surprise. Their opponents had established themselves as favourites after a historic O'Byrne Cup success last winter and a positive National League campaign since.

Indeed Longford were sufficiently emboldened by their successes to claim the proposals of the Football Development Committee had nothing to offer them. Yet Wexford had proved difficult to beat in the previous two seasons, taking both championship fixtures to replays.

Wexford manager Ger Halligan sees the irony in his team finally winning a first championship match in six years in the year the knockout format changes: "There's nothing like winning a knockout game and progressing, but we knew what the rules were and that we were going to play three games."

So far the new decade is shaping up more promisingly than the old. During the 1990s Wexford won only two championship matches - against Carlow and Offaly, both away from home. You have to go back to 1986 for the most recent home victory.

One blight on the afternoon was the dismissal early in the second half of Wexford corner forward Mattie Forde for lashing out at Donal Ledwith. Only eight weeks ago, he suffered a similar fate in the league match against Carlow.

"It's a pity," says Halligan, "he was going very well as a scoring forward but we'll have to do without him for a while now. It's the second time he's been sent off for that type of offence in two months. There's no excuse but there was a lot of pushing and shoving and he just turned and slapped him. You can't do that."

The incident maintained an unhappy trend: Halligan estimating that Wexford have finished the last four matches against Longford with only 14 men.

"I was pleased with the team's reaction," says Halligan. "We've played four times against Longford and each time we've had someone sent off. The players could have reacted, `here we go again' but they continued playing as if they still had 15."

In the circumstances, the loss of Leinster forward Scott Doran has become all the more acute for Wexford. "It's unfortunate, particularly with the Mattie Forde situation. They're two forwards who'd get on most teams in Ireland. Scott was under pressure because of work which has been taking him away from home and he's also got a young family. But if he was available again, I'd have him back immediately. The door's open. Wexford can't afford to do without its best players."