February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
The feeling of an opportunity missed will probably have weighed heavier in Cork than in Wexford these past few days, but only marginally so. True, Donal O’Grady’s men spilled four wides as the clock ran dead, each of them a chance to slit the Wexford throats once and for all. And yes, they were careless in leaving Rory McCarthy alone and unmarked 20 yards from goal as Damien Fitzhenry wound up what everyone in the ground knew to be the last puck-out and last attacking chance of the game. But it would be both misleading and unfair to say that this was a game Cork left behind them.
They didn’t. They fought gamely and bravely to recover from a 5-point deficit early in the second half, and though they streaked into the lead, they were made to work for it. The tired minds and weary legs that coughed up McCarthy’s last-minute chance are easily forgiven.
And though it is always a little trite to say so, a day like Sunday wasn’t about finding winners and losers. Rather it was about hurling, the sheer, cussed splendor of it all. It was a day for savoring attackers and marveling at the trickery of some of the forward play. With the exception of Larry O’Gorman, every player in the starting lineups with the No. 8 or higher on his shirt scored from play. Which is not to damn O’Gorman in any way. The Wexford midfielder ran his legs to stumps throughout beforemaking way for younger legs with 20 minutes left.
By then, Wexford were starting to creak. They’d gone in four points up at halftime (1-11 to 1-10), a fair reflection on how they’d dominated the first period. Paul Codd had sniped a goal and with the Jacob brothers and Mitch Jordan on skates, points were flying over from all angles. But the scores had begun to dry up midway through the second half and Cork were the coming team as Larry departed the scene. Five minutes before, he’d been involved in a cruel cameo wherein he made two heroic blockdowns in succession only to see the sliotar squirt to John Gardiner who calmly stroked a point.
Cork were taking control now and all they needed was a goal to add to the fun. It duly arrived, Setanta