LEINSTER SFC: Gavin Cummiskey talks to Wexford manager Pat Roe, who is concerned that good performances are too often followed by indifferent displays.
In March, Wexford hit a purple patch. After coming off the back of a victory over Sligo and a draw with Cavan, they went to Tuam to play a resurgent Galway. Nobody could have predicted what would happen next.
A combination of Galway taking their eye off the ball (most quality sides would escape unpunished for that against Wexford) and Mattie Forde producing one of his greatest games in the purple and gold led to a 17-point annihilation of the eventual National League finalists and many people's tip for the All-Ireland.
Forde finished with 4-5 to bring Galway crashing to earth. Their Caltra contingent had also just returned, giving more credence to the victory, and it undoubtedly angered the home support. It may even prove to be a watershed in Galway's year.
Despite it all, Wexford manager Pat Roe refused to be carried away by the result. "The league has no bearing on the championship. Galway were off form, while we were full value for the victory. Having said that, I think we would have won anyway but it was a freak result. Galway went on to the league final.
"On Wexford's day they are very capable of beating anybody but it all goes back to the consistency factor."
This has always been their main hindrance. By scanning their league results it becomes patently clear. After losing to Armagh on day one, they beat Meath before travelling to Limerick to suffer a comprehensive defeat. Even after hammering Galway they went to Portlaoise and were outclassed by the Leinster champions. The Jekyll and Hyde of Leinster football.
"We are conscious that the consistency factor is absent from our game. A good performance has been followed by a poor or at least indifferent display," says Roe. "Louth are a strong championship team so if we are to beat them we need 15, or even 20 players, to hit form on the day."
Despite this talk of inconsistency they still managed to finish fourth in Division One B, and significantly none of the top teams in the country were able to skin them.
However, their fickle resources were dealt a blow when, completely out of the blue, their talented corner forward Scott Doran disappeared.
Doran decided not to inform Roe of his emigration to England, where news eventually filtered through that he was training with London in their preparation for the championship opener against Galway on May 30th. To the present day, Roe has heard nothing from him.
"He gave us no indication that he was leaving the country. We talked to the lads about it and they decided to just get on with it. Sure what else could they do? Life goes on. The positive side to it is that there's now a place for someone else."
They have far more pressing matters at hand anyway. The priority is to bring their best form to Parnell Park on Sunday and finally end their five-year losing streak in the championship. When Roe states his side are just focusing on one match at a time, it does not sound like a cliché.
"The immediate priority is to beat Louth. I'm happy with how we've been progressing (after recent victories over Cork and Tipperary) but it is hard to gauge how our championship form will be.
"We're going well in training but we will not know how well until Sunday."
If this battle between Leinster minnows is anything like the sizzling encounter Carlow and Longford served up last Sunday in O'Connor Park, then the Dublin venue is in for a treat.
The momentum of something special must begin somewhere and what better place than away from the main stage. As Wexford showed in March, if they get things right anything can happen. A run through the qualifiers is feasible, anything is possible. A cut at Kildare awaits the winners.
