The fine margins that define these games.
Golden opportunities don’t come around too often and when they present themselves, you just have to be ruthless, you just have to go for the jugular, you just have to take them.
On Saturday evening, the Wexford footballers didn’t take the golden opportunity they were presented with, they didn’t even have a go at it.
With their Leinster first round clash with Laois deep into injury time on Saturday evening and the scores tied, Wexford’s Brian Malone won a penalty for his side.
Corner forward Donal Shanley, who had been prolific with his frees up to that point stepped up to the spot, but instead of going for goal, the Wexford man took his point.
They were quickly punished. Laois won their kickout and went down the other end of the field to level it up and send the game into extra-time.
With all the momentum on the side of the O’Moore men, it was no surprise when the away side, who had recovered from a ten point half-time deficit, kicked on in extra-time to win this game comfortably.
SportsJOE’s Colm Parkinson was in Wexford Park and he caught up with Laois’ veteran corner forward Ross Munnelly just after the game. Munnelly, delighted with the win, was none-the-less surprised that Wexford didn’t go for broke from the spot.
“We just stuck in the game, we knew the chances were coming, it was a funny game because we’d get a score back and they’d go straight back up the field in the second half and we couldn’t get ahead and stay ahead of them.
“Maybe they should have gone for a goal on the penalty.
“Yeah, probably (It would have been game over.) If they had gone for it and missed it, he might have blown it up, but Garett Dillon, what a score to draw it up and give us our chance.
“It probably only looked like one team was going to win it in extra-time then.
Munnelly has seen it all in the Laois jersey, but this ranked right up there for him.
“That’s right up there. It was a sixteen point swing. We’ve been working hard, John has been at us all year to try and find something different and today we came up with the goods when maybe we wouldn’t have before.”
Listen to the full interview on Monday’s GAA Hour Show.
