Facing Kerry in the All-Ireland senior hurling championship preliminary quarter-final should hand Wexford an edge, but team manager Darragh Egan will be taking nothing for granted.
Wexford travel to Austin Stack Park, Tralee, for their Saturday afternoon clash (2pm) as clear favourites but there should be no need to point out that the Model County are prone to play somewhat flat when coming up against lesser opponents.
But with Darragh Egan at the helm, he will not be for allowing any over-confidence to creep into the side’s preparation. Egan will also look back on Kerry’s victory over Tipperary in the Munster League earlier this season as another reason to give the opposition the same respect as any of the more recognised hurling powers.
“We are fully aware of what’s ahead of us. We are looking no further than this. We will have to approach it properly as we went up to Westmeath and we saw what happened once we failed in front of goal. They also have Stephen (Molumphy) and Pat (Bennett), former Wexford backroom (staff member), so they will know plenty about Wexford. We have got to be prepared and treat Kerry the same as any other side.
“They may be having their third weekend in a row but home advantage should be a great help in overcoming that. The mood all through in our camp has been good, while the Kilkenny victory also helped considerably. While home advantage will compensate for Kerry, but we still know what exactly they will bring to the plate.
“We have prepared well, the extra week has given us time which the players have availed of. It’s given more rest time, while also building on their hurling. We know the challenge and the level we need to get, otherwise we could be out of the championship.
“From here on in it’s always going to be last chance saloon.”
Not long after the final whistle in Nowlan Park after Wexford had salvaged their championship with a dramatic recent victory over Kilkenny, Egan would have set his sights on the preliminary quarter-final, particularly having lost out on a provincial final place through the dropping of a point to Westmeath in Cusack Park, Mullingar.
“We were disappointed with the Westmeath result, the players were disappointed. It was a case, like in earlier games, (where) we did not put away our chances. We have suffered for our wastefulness in past games. There’s no doubt we were struggling in front of goal but I’m confident that will come right against Kerry.
“We have the quality in attack. They have been scoring in training so it is up us now to bring it to match time. They will simply have to bring it to the Kerry game,” added Egan.
Wexford have no new injury concerns while they are boosted by the return to full fitness of Shane Reck.
“We have no new injury concerns,” added Egan. “Shane (Reck) is back fully training and is in contention for selection which gives us extra options in defence. Shaun (Murphy) is training but is not in contention for this game. His training is going well but he needs more time following his back operation. So we have a full squad which is a huge boost at this time of the season particularly following such a hectic programme of league and championship games.”
