The sometimes great imbalance in championship scheduling is apparent
again in Thurles on Sunday when the Wexford hurlers play their sixth match in eight weeks, against a Limerick team who will be playing only their third game.
Both counties have been on the hurling campaign since June 1st with Limerick starting out by beating Tipperary in the Munster semi-final, before losing the Munster final to Cork, six weeks later.
Wexford started out against Antrim in their Leinster quarter-final, and since then have lost to Dublin in the semi-final, drawn with Clare in the qualifiers, beaten them in the replay, before beating Waterford last Saturday. It means Sunday’s All-Ireland quarter-final at Semple Stadium will be their fourth match in successive weekends.
Much has been made of the pros and cons of playing games in quick succession (momentum, confidence, the risk of some fatigue, etc) versus the more truncated schedule (freshness, hunger, the risk of some staleness, etc). But some people in Wexford believe their county stars are aligning nicely for their first time since their last All-Ireland victory in 1996.
Sunday’s game continues along that alignment, as Limerick were the team Wexford beat in that 1996 All-Ireland final, and they also won their previous quarter-final clash, in 2001.
That was a game still memorable for the late goal, scored from a free, by Wexford goalkeeper Damien Fitzhenry, which gave his side a dramatic victory one-point win in Croke Park, 4-10 to 2-15.
On board
Now, Fitzhenry is also back on board, brought in by manager Liam Dunne this summer as Wexford goalkeeping coach.
He’s not only another of the many links to the 1996 squad, but also one of the most experienced goalkeepers in game, playing 17 seasons with Wexford, from 1993-2010, winning one All-Ireland, three Leinster titles, and two All Stars during his 56 championship games.
“It hasn’t been a huge involvement for me, really,” Fitzhenry says of his role, in an interview this week with Wexford GAA. “Liam asked me to come in and do a bit, with Mark and Liam, and it’s no problem, really, I just come in and do it whenever I can, to give the lads a bit of a dig out.”
One of the things Fitzhenry has been preaching is the importance of having two strong goalkeepers, in constant competition with each other.
Wexford do boast two equally strong goalkeepers in Mark Fanning, who has been starting their championship games, and also Ben O'Connor, who has considerable experience with Oulart-the-Ballagh
“Maybe Mark has cemented his place in goal this year, but it’s always good to have a guy like Ben, who is coming from a very strong club side, who is going to put pressure on him,” says Fitzhenry.
Work hard
“It’s great to have the two goalkeepers, of the calibre we have. They can work hard, against each other, and that works out really well for both of them.”
Dunne has also widened his backroom team this year to include Liam Griffin, who managed the county to that All-Ireland success in 1996, and now serves as forwards’ coach. It’s also proving something of a coup that he attracted Gerry Fitzpatrick as their strength and conditioning coach, who previously worked with Waterford, and is also rated as one of the best sports psychologists in any game.
Limerick, however, have won the last two championship clashes between the sides, both All-Ireland qualifiers, in 2009 and 2011. Waterford last appeared at the quarter-final stage when they lost out to Waterford, in 2008, while Limerick’s last appearance was in 2012, when they lost by nine points to Kilkenny.
The counties also clashed in March this year in Division 1B, Limerick winning 1-14 to 2-8 at the Gaelic Grounds.
