In the preliminary quarter-finals of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship, Wexford convincingly triumphed over Laois, securing a 12-point victory. The match was held at O’Moore Park, with both Lee Chin and Conor McDonald birthing superior performances for Wexford, scoring a cumulative total of 16 points for team manager Keith Rossiter.
There were some instances of commendable defence from the Laois players, maintaining a clean slate for their team. Likewise, Aaron Dunphy’s accuracy with dead balls was proficient. Wexford underwent a concern early on when Jer Quinlan was awarded a penalty, however, this was diffused by Mark Fanning, who saved the attempt to the bottom left of the goal.
Stephen ‘Picky’ Maher and Aaron Dunphy collaborated for four points in the first quarter for Laois. Despite this, efforts from Conor Hearne, Simon Donohoe, and a few well-aimed frees from Chin positioned Wexford ahead by two points.
A long-range effort from Aidan Corby 15 minutes into the game, providing a brief respite before Wexford unleashed a score rampage with seven consecutive points over the succeeding 10 minutes. Scorers in this spate included McDonald, Chin, Liam McGovern, and Cian Byrne.
Laois had several attempts fall short, following which, Dunphy and Maher again hit the mark, subsequently countered by more Chin frees. Chin’s efforts put additional pressure on the Laois team, sustained by excellent interplay from the Wexford team’s defence and forwards.
Aidan Corby’s perilous attacks in the last five minutes of the first half, were replied to by Chin, McGovern, and Damien Reck, accompanied by four successful frees from Dunphy that brought the score to 0-18 Wexford, 0-11 Laois.
The second half kickstarted with scores from Rory O’Connor and Chin, establishing a nine-point lead for Wexford. Despite Dunphy splitting the posts with a triad of frees early on, steady scoring by Wexford’s Chin, McDonald and Byrne ensured a clear advantage for their team.
Wexford managed to surge ahead with a sequence of five scores, establishing a 13-point lead by the 55th minute. This power play left the O’Moore men struggling to break from their half during this 10-minute spell.
Amidst this, Willie Maher’s team managed to claw back some points, thanks to quick succession scores from Dunphy, Cody Comerford, and an exceptional play by Ryan Mullaney. Mullaney intercepted a pass on his own 21 and sprinted upfield.
After a seven-minute dry spell, Wexford regained their momentum and scored points through Hearne and McDonald. This was followed by a pair of frees from Séamus Casey.
Towards the end, Laois had a few goal attempts thwarted and had to be content with a set of three points from Dunphy’s frees. Hearne’s third score of the match ensured a victory for the visiting team.
LAOIS comprised of players like Enda Rowland, Diarmaid Conway, Ryan Mullaney, Donnchadh Hartnett, Ian Shanahan, Podge Delaney, Tom Cuddy, Aidan Corby, David Dooley, Gearoid Lynch, Paddy Purcell, Aaron Dunphy, Jer Quinlan, Stephen Maher, and Tomas Keyes. Substitutes included Fiachra C-Fennell, Cody Comerford, Martin Phelan, Ross King, and John Lennon.
WEXFORD boasted of a line-up that included Mark Fanning, Shane Reck, Conor Foley, Eoin Ryan, Simon Donohoe, Damien Reck, Matthew O’Hanlon, Conor Hearne, Tomas Kinsella, Liam Óg McGovern, Lee Chin, Charlie McGuckin, Cian Byrne, Conor McDonald, and Rory O’Connor.
Substitutions: Corey Dunbar Byrne, who scored 0-1, replaced Kinsella at 45 minutes. 50 minutes into the game, Cathal Dunbar took Byrne’s place. Chin was subbed by Kevin Foley on the 56th minute mark. Séamus Casey came in for McGovern at 67 minutes, bringing in a score of 0-2, 2f. Darragh Carley was brought on for McDonald as the final switch at 70 minutes. The man in charge of the match was referee Shane Hynes from Galway.