No Divine Right

The Wexford Youths 18’s are a seriously good squad of players but that doesn’t give them a divine right to win football games. Losing to Portlaoise on Saturday was a massive disappointment but stranger things have happened. Away from home, poor surface, a pitch half the size of our own, playing against a group of players looking for their day in the sun, looking for the scalp of the Wexford Youths. And they got it. It was their All Ireland final, we were just trying to get to the final. They played as if their lives depended on it and they got their reward for a super human effort. It is no consolation to us that they had just one shot at our goal in the entire game. And it went in. No consolation to us that we had more than 20 corners and certainly no comfort in the fact that we could have scored ten goals. Great credit is due to the Portlaoise goalkeeper Stuart Dargan who was superb, as was their number 9, Jason Murphy, a great prospect if I ever seen one. It should be said that referee Colombo McDermot also had an excellent game.

The Youths played well and were certainly unfortunate to lose, very unfortunate. But sport is like that and if I have one criticism of our players it is that even though we were performing well, we as a unit didn’t play as if our lives depended on it, until the last half hour when we were chasing the game. Naturally, as manager, I must take ultimate responsibility – their mental approach at the start could have been better, it’s my job to get them right.

Despite having a powerful group of players, it is going to be difficult for us to win any title this season. We face a tough game in the All Ireland Inter League Youths in the knock out stages, away to the champions, Dublin AUL on February 20th. Meanwhile, we travel to Bagnalstown next Saturday for the 4th round of the Leinster Youth Cup- probably a small pitch, the worse for wear after a harsh winter, another group of players who’d just love to beat the Wexford Youths. Just how bad do these Wexford Youths want to win something, how hungry are they? We’ll soon see.

There are many games that have remained etched in my mind over the last 20 years- I’m not going to forget losing to Portlaoise in January 2010. I hope the players won’t either.

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