The Wexford Under-21 hurlers are back in action Wednesday night and that can only mean one thing… Samba hurling.
Last season may have eventually ended in disappointment as they were convincingly beaten in the All-Ireland final by Limerick, but that was not before they provided us with one of the great hurling goals.
To mark the start of their Leinster four-in-a-row campaign against Dublin in Innovate Wexford Park, we look back on their sublime team goal from last year’s Leinster semi-final win over Offaly.
This is not just idle reminiscence either. Eight of the team from last year’s All-Ireland final have been named by JJ Doyle in the starting XV for tonight’s quarter-final, including four of the players (goalkeeper Oliver O’Leary, penultimate pass-maker James Cash, final flick perpetrator Conor McDonald and scorer Cathal Dunbar) directly involved in the heavenly move.
Let’s break it down in all its glory.
It starts with a brave block on Matthew Maloney by Andrew Kenny, which left O’Leary an easy save to make before clearing the ball, on his knees, to captain Eoin Conroy.
Corner-back Conroy does not mess about, completing a long clearance towards midfield just as an Offaly attacker tries to close him down.
This is where the Yellow Bellies start to turn it on. Kevin Foley allows Conroy’s clearance to bounce before, one-handed, laying the ball off to Cash. This improvisation takes three Offaly defenders out of play.
By now the Model men know they have something special on their hands and Cash plays a low ball off his left towards McDonald in the full-forward line. With an Offaly defender tight to him, the Naomh Eanna man scoops the ball into the path of the onrushing Dunbar.
Dunbar still had work to do, batting the ball from behind his head and into his own path, he picks the sliothar one-handed before placing his shot between the legs of the Offaly goalkeeper.
There you have it, a goal of sublime improvisation, ingenuity and skill. Wexford hurling fans will be hoping for more of the same against Dublin, as revenge for last Saturday week’s shellacking at the hands of the county’s seniors.
