THE outlook on the sunny south east clouded a little in Thurles yesterday as Wexford's under 21s were well beaten by, a considerably superior Galway side in the All Ireland final. It came as an anti climax a week after Wexford's memorable senior victory over Limerick.
It was all the more disappointing as the conditions in Thurles were magnificent; dry and sunny with a firm breeze blowing in the general direction of the Killinan end. A big crowd of 35,315 had already witnessed a cracking football final and hopes were high that the hurling would at least match it.
That it wasn't isn't really Galway's fault. They were largely in, command for the full hour and only the difficulty they had getting into the game kept the result in the balance until half time and even midway through the second half.
The difference between the teams was largely in the forwards. Galway's attack was productive enough to account for all but one point the final total, whereas Wexford struggled to make an impact. Although their senior forwards Paul Codd and Gary Laffan scored all the team's points, only one was from play.
The Galway full forward line particularly after half time, took over and ended the day with 1-10 of the side's 1-14. It was the county's third All Ireland at this grade during the 1990s and their seventh in all, pushing them into clear third place on the roll of honour, ahead of Kilkenny and one behind last year's champions, Tipperary.
Wexford were disappointing. The wild merry making of the last week probably didn't help them very much and no matter how abstemious the senior panellists had been, they looked flat.
Rory McCarthy and his partner, Martin Byrne, had increasing difficulties at midfield, where Gordon Glynn and Ollie Fahy dominated and prevented much worthwhile ball making its way through to the Wexford forwards where Laffan and Codd were, after a useful first half, eventually subdued.
The Leinster champions did start well. They were able to announce that Michael Jordan was fit to take his place at left corner forward. But he never looked at ease and was replaced in the 45th minute.
Galway looked nervous and out of tune whereas Laffan and Codd struck frees with the latter adding a 65 after Eugene Cloonan, the star minor full forward in goal yesterday, let a long, hopeful ball bounce off his stick and over the end line.
Trouble was, however, brewing at the other end of the pitch. Tommy Radford, in the left corner of Wexford's defence, was beginning a taxing afternoon. By the 12th minute, his marker Alan Kerins had helped himself to three points.
Eventually, Radford was switched with John Hegarty in the other corner, but that merely set him up for a trickier second half. Being moved at an early stage on to Kevin Broderick sounds unnerving and so it proved.
Galway equalised at 0-3 each in the 11th minute through a huge, 90 metre free by Cathal Moore, who was a powerful presence at centreback. In fairness to Wexford, the battled throughout the opening half hour and managed to alternate scores up to the interval when the teams stood at 0-6 each.
By that stage, Wexford might have had some tenuous reasons for optimism. Although not playing particularly well, they had shown greater economy in taking their chances. However, Galway's defence had an increasingly impermeable look with Gregory Kennedy, showing some spirited and crafty form at corner back where he consistently beat his man to the ball, and calmly swept away a series of unflappable clearances.
In addition to five wides, the winners managed to do everything in the first half except score a goal. In the 23rd minute, centre forward Vinnie Maher cut through and fired in a shot that Wexford goalkeeper MJ Cooper somehow kept out. The rebound was returned venomously only for Cooper again to push it out. Again it was thrashed back but this time, the ball came off the crossbar.
After 10 scoreless minutes of the second half, Galway began their relentless push for the title. Coen, immediately after having missed a simpler task, pointed a free from wide on the left. The only punctuation to Galway's trot was another great save by Cooper, this time from Coen, after 45 minutes, and a 65 pointed by Codd four minutes later.
Three substitutions by Wexford in little over five minutes at the beginning of the final quarter made little difference. Laffan completed the unhappy trick of following his senior All Ireland heroics by being taken off a week later.
Coen's dead ball strikes had pushed Galway four points ahead, 0-11 to 0-7. The pressure on Wexford's full backs told as Broderick found a gap and sped through before finishing strongly and irresistibly to the net in the 53rd minute.
Three more points capped a big win for the Connachtmen, but Cyril Farrell characteristically didn't rest until the very end and with little over a minute remaining, and nine points between the sides, he sent on a substitute and re arranged the attack.
It worked. The final margin was 10.
