A massive win for the Déise.
Wexford went into this first round qualifier clash with Waterford as hot favourites, they came out of it with their championship hopes over for another year as they picked up the unwanted label of being the first county to exit this year’s All-Ireland championship.
And they were well beaten in front of a home Wexford Park crowd in the “Sunny south east El Classico,” as it was being dubbed. This was the first time the teams would ever clash in Championship football.
Indeed, there’s no doubting that football is the poorer relation in Waterford, with the county board regularly neglecting the second code in the face of small ball dominance, but this performance shows that there’s plenty of fight in Tom McGlinchy’s squad of players, who picked up their first championship win in seven years here.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and Gaultier club man JJ Hutchinson led the charge for the men in blue and white from full forward and from his explosive lead the rest of the team followed. Hutchinson played a part in two of his side’s goals, scoring one and providing an incisive pass for the others, and these green flags would eventually prove Wexford’s downfall on a day when Waterford were deserving winners.
Ideal conditions for the South East "El Classico" pic.twitter.com/D92xqnxJ1K
— Wexford GAA (@OfficialWexGAA) June 9, 2018
Despite getting out of the blocks quickly, with the Yellow Bellies racing into a 0-5 0-2 lead after 14 minutes of play, Shane Ryan’s goal for Waterford on the quarter hour mark really rocked Paul McLoughlin’s side.
On the other hand, it seemed to rally the Waterford troops with their defence, led by captain James McGrath shutting down any Model County attacks stoutly.
When Hutchinson rattled the Wexford net with a ‘goal of the championship’ contender on the stroke of half-time, it became clear that Waterford meant business.
They picked up where they left off upon the resumption of play, with substitute Joe Allen making an instant impact on the game, raising a green flag just a couple of minutes after his introduction.
That left the score at 3-8 to 0-11 after 44 minutes of play as Wexford’s mountain got even steeper. To their credit, they did battle hard, with Donal Shanley’s frees whittling the gap down to two, but Waterford held on to deservedly win on a scoreline of 3-14 to 1-18.
Great scenes in Innovate Wexford Park where Waterford’s footballers have just won their first championship game in 7 years. They’ve beaten the hosts 3-14 to 1-18 pic.twitter.com/pXf3Kys7DN
— Brendan O'Brien (@byBrendanOBrien) June 9, 2018
Considering it was only ten years ago that Wexford competed in the All-Ireland football semi-final, this marks another step in their fall from grace. For Waterford, this is a massive win for a county where football needs all the encouragement it can get.
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