Wexford young guns take a big scalp as they hold off Kilkenny fightback

It was a real show of grit and determination, and no shortage of skill, as the Model County outfit looked like they wanted it more, displaying tremendous workrate all over the field as they harried, hooked and blocked like demons.

Having trounced Galway by 19 points in their provincial opener one week earlier, most observers would have expected the Cats to continue their winning ways but, helped by 13 points from the excellent O’Brien, the hosts withstood a Kilkenny fightback to get over the line.

Wexford began their campaign with an 0-18 to 0-15 defeat to Dublin in Parnell Park, but they looked to have put that behind them as they held a 1-13 to 0-7 interval lead, albeit with the aid of the breeze.

The goal arrived in the 21st minute when Ryan Donohoe sent a delivery into the danger zone, and, with Colin Carley putting the defence under pressure, the loose ball was gathered by Rossiter, who buried to the net.

With the talented Jake Mullen doing much of the damage, the visitors began to claw their way back into the contest after the break, but they were rocked back on their heels in the 38th minute when O’Brien made a beeline for goal and, when his shot was saved by goalkeeper Pádraig Joyce, Rossiter was on hand to finish to the net to make it 2-14 to 0-10.

Niall Bergin’s side continued to battle back, however, and they got the boost they needed in the 50th minute when Kevin Buggy burst through and buried the ball past Paddy Quigley (2-16 to 1-15).

All the momentum appeared to be with Kilkenny, but Wexford steadied the ship and, although the visitors managed to reduce the deficit to two points, that was as close as they got and they couldn’t bridge the gap as Wexford held firm for a sweet victory.

The home side got off to a bright enough start, leading 5-2 after the opening quarter. Sharpshooters Seán O’Brien and Jake Mullen swapped early placed balls, but Michael Jacob’s team began to get the upper hand, with Seán Hyland, O’Brien (two) and Conor Fanning, following a flowing move, adding to their tally.

The lively Conor Holohan got the other Kilkenny score, the first of five points from play from the dangerous O’Loughlin Gaels attacker.

The visitors did have a sight of goal in the 16th minute when Eoghan Cahill gathered a crossfield pass from Eoin Brennan, but his shot was wide of the target.

Eye-catching scores from O’Brien and Jack Nolan were cancelled out by a Jake Mullen brace, the second coming following a superb bit of trickery on the right wing.

Rossiter’s goal then gave the home side some breathing space, and they went on to score four points without reply, three O’Brien frees and a superb Jack Dunne effort, to give them a 1-11 to 0-4 advantage in the 28th minute.

Kilkenny rallied with a couple of quickfire Conor Holohan scores, but Colin Carley and Ciarán Gethings (free) pointed, either side of a Jake Mullen placed ball, to give the home side a nine-point cushion at the break.

With the wind at their backs, the Noresiders pared a couple of points off that lead within five minutes of the restart, with Mullen (free), Eoghan Cahill and Kevin Buggy registering, while Seán O’Brien kept the scoreboard ticking over for the hosts.

Rossiter’s second goal briefly halted the march but, after Mullen and O’Brien had exchanged scores, Kilkenny grabbed three of the next four points, through Conor Holohan, Ollie O’Donovan and Jason Cody, before Kevin Buggy pounced for a timely goal with ten minutes remaining.

Goalkeeper Paddy Quigley was then called into action, superbly thwarting Mullen, with Eoin Brennan slotting the ball over the bar in the follow-up to make it a one-score game (2-16 to 1-16).

O’Brien steadied the Wexford nerves with a free, but Eoghan Cahill quickly tagged on points at the other end to leave the hosts clinging on to a precarious two-point lead.

To their credit, every time a question was asked Wexford came up with the answer. Oisín Moore’s inspirational line ball restored the one-goal buffer and, although Mullen got Kilkenny back to within two on a couple of occasions, O’Brien responded by knocking over two placed balls at the other end to seal the deal.

The two winners of next weekend’s round three games - with Wexford hosting Galway on Saturday and Kilkenny home to Dublin on Sunday - will claim the semi-final spots on offer, while the losers will enter the knockout phase at the quarter-final stage.

Wexford: Paddy Quigley (Bannow-Ballymitty); Ian Reilly (Rathnure), Eoin Hughes (Ballynastragh Gaels), Cathal Sinnott (Glynn-Barntown); Oisín Moore (Oulart-The Ballagh, 0-1 line ball), Ryan Donohoe (Rapparees), Jack Nolan (Oylegate-Glenbrien, 0-1); Kevin O’Mahony (St. Martin’s), Jack Dunne (Oulart-The Ballagh, capt., 0-1); Seán Hyland (Rapparees, 0-1), Conor Fanning (Liam Mellows, 0-1), Seán O’Brien (Rathgarogue-Cushinstown, 0-13, 8 frees, 1 ’65); Colin Carley (Glynn-Barntown, 0-1), Darren Rossiter (Gusserane, 2-0), Ciarán Gethings (Ballynastragh Gaels, 0-1 free). Subs. - Bobby Murphy (Bannow-Ballymitty) for O’Mahony, temp. (41-44), Peter Wickham (Oulart-The Ballagh) for Hyland (53), Murphy for Dunne (54), Jack Gethings (Ballynastragh Gaels) for O’Mahony (56), Rhys Wickham (Oulart-The Ballagh) for Rossiter (60), Ben Harpur (Oulart-The Ballagh) for Moore (61), also Martin Dempsey (Oulart-The Ballagh), Paddy Keavey (Ballygarrett), Ryan Murphy (Liam Mellows), Adam O’Connell-Byrne (Askamore).

Kilkenny: Pádraig Joyce; Bobby Brennan, Larry Phelan, Oisín Henderson; Mikey Rohan, Jack Dollard, David Barcoe; Anthony Clifford, Robbie Doherty; Kevin Buggy (1-1), Eoghan Cahill (0-2), Jake Mullen (0-9, 6 frees); Patrick Lacey, Conor Holohan (0-5), Bill McDermott (capt.). Subs. – Jason Cody (0-1) for Lacey, inj. (7), Eoin Brennan (0-1) for Dollard, inj. (9), Ollie O’Donovan (0-1) for Clifford (41), Louis Raggett for Phelan (54), Jake Connery for McDermott (61).

Referee: James McGrath (Westmeath).

LEINSTER MHC TIER 1 ROUND-ROBIN

P W D L F A PTS

Kilkenny 2 1 0 1 59 43 2

Wexford 2 1 0 1 41 41 2

Dublin 2 1 0 1 35 37 2

Galway 2 1 0 1 39 53 2