In the three years since Ben Brosnan burst on to the scene with the Wexford footballers, he's been wondering when someone will stop pressing the rewind button.
Because in 2011, the year Brosnan first nailed down his place as a Wexford forward, they had Dublin on the ropes in the Leinster final, only surrendering what looked to be a winning position when goalkeeper Anthony Masterson somehow managed a Wexford own goal. Dublin won by that goal.
Brosnan scored nine points in that game, having hit 0-19 in the previous three. Wexford were later stunned by Limerick in the qualifiers, but instead of that being a temporary blip, it was a sign of things to come: in 2012, they were more convincingly beaten by Dublin in the Leinster semi-final, and last year, after losing to Meath in the semi-final, were taken out by Laois in the third round of the qualifiers.
Rapid fall
It was fairly rapid fall for a team that made the All-Ireland semi-final in 2008, losing to eventual champions Tyrone.
“It is difficult,” said Brosnan, 26 now, but still with the youthful looks. “Because I suppose we have gone back a small bit. And from the outside, people will say we’ve gone back, and Dublin are after moving on a million miles. That does make it difficult to stay motivated.
“And I suppose I came in when the team were at their top. I’ve still only lost five or six championship games with Wexford. I remember talking with Redmond Barry one time, and he felt like he’d lost 30 before he won one.
‘Beaten easily’
“Now, we feel we are struggling against teams that two or three years ago we feel we would have beaten easily. But I suppose every team has to go through those periods. I mean Dublin went through a rough period for maybe 15 years, but are getting their rewards now for the hard work.
“I know, personally, I didn’t have a great year, last year, either, so it’s about trying to do more again. And maybe we did get a bit complacent as a team. We just have to keep working. I know that’s an easy thing to say.”
Tomorrow evening they take on Longford, the team they beat in the last round of the league to avoid relegation to Division Four (Longford being relegated instead). Longford got the better of Westmeath in the first round and Brosnan admits there is an uncertainty about Wexford's form.
Dragged on
“Yeah, it wasn’t the greatest league for us, and dragged on a bit longer than we’d hoped. But I think the last game, against Longford, was a more like a championship game, because whoever lost was going down.”
With manager Aidan O'Brien now in his second year Brosnan also believes Wexford are a closer unit than in 2013, their first season without long-serving Jason Ryan.
“Graeme Molloy, our captain, is very good at getting players together. If we get to play Dublin again in Croke Park this summer, I know that’s where every player in Wexford would love to be.”
