So Wexford and Tipperary bow out till summertime, each with plenty to think about. Yesterday's game at Enniscorthy will have no long-term impact on the outcome of this year's League campaign, but it will have done much to put the winners in the right frame of mind now that the evenings are taking a stretch.
This was too solid a Wexford performance to be dismissed merely as too little, too late. Since losing to Kilkenny last month Wexford have turned a corner in terms of their own performances, drawing twice in circumstances where they felt they had a moral right to better and winning yesterday in a style more emphatic than their injury list should have allowed. For their part, Kilkenny appear to have gone into reverse.
The first half was largely a tit-for-tat affair for the first 25 minutes or so, the hurling bearing the unperturbed air of an exhibition as the sides levelled with each other seven times. Then, suddenly, Wexford launched a couple of haymakers and put 2-1 on the scoreboard for Tipperary to mull over with their tea.
Adrian Fenlon launched a sublime sideline cut from 65 yards which was dropping into the square when Tom Dempsey shaved it with his hurley to slip it into the Tipperary net. Paul Codd added a quick free and then the move of the game produced Wexford's second goal.
Martin Storey delivered the latest in a succession of good passes to the inside line. Paul Shelley was wrong-footed advancing for it and suddenly Larry Murphy was in behind him 30 yards out and with a yard to spare. He went with it till he was about to be snuffed out and then slipped a clever handpass out left to Paul Codd, who drove to the net.
It was no more than Wexford deserved. They had started slightly nervously, with Eugene O'Neill slipping in behind Ger Cushe twice and Declan Ryan winning a tidy mound of ball from Larry O'Gorman. Both Cushe and O'Gorman settled into the game, however, and ultimately the Tipperary full-forward line died of starvation.
In midfield the game was a personal triumph for Rory McCarthy, who suffered more acutely than most when the teams met in the All-Ireland semi-final last August. Yesterday he submitted a heroic performance, blotting out a chorus line of markers and providing the beat within Wexford's heart.
After the break Tipperary were chasing shadows mainly. On a heavy sod they lacked the physique to muscle their way back into the game and in too many areas their performance was just plain disappointing. The right wing of their defence struggled for long periods and in midfield they never mined out a steady flow of ball.
After 35 minutes or so the Wexford full-back line would have been forgiven for calling in sick with Sean Flood having shipped a ferocious challenge that left him groggy and Ger Cushe having had his head bandaged up. In hope, Tipperary moved Declan Ryan into full forward in a straight swap with Eugene O'Neill. To no avail.
The margin might have been a little more emphatic had Wexford come up with the same quality of ball to their full-forward line in the second half as they had in the first. With the wind at their backs and a big margin opening up, they snapped in a lot of high balls, relying on opportunism over planning.
Little wonder, though, when there was glory to be had. Within 10 seconds of the throw-in McCarthy had driven over a mighty score from the middle of the field.
Ten minutes passed without a further score. Then came a little flutter which illustrated the difference in morale between the sides. Tipperary scored from yet another free from O'Neill. Declan Ruth replied with a 70-yard point from the right corner back position, Codd added two and Fenlon hit a magnificent score.
The game petered out with Tipperary hunting desperately for a goal which never looked like coming. All in all the game was a rude wake-up call for Tipperary, who have to sit back and watch the allMunster League semi-final unfolding in the coming weeks.
Afterwards, Wexford manager Rory Kinsella was in quiet and philosophical mood as befits a man who has lost a battle but is doing well in the war. "We feel unfortunate not to qualify (for the League semi-finals) after a couple of draws, but the performance was good." With Gary Laffan and David Guiney approaching fitness again and Liam Dunne hanging in there as a long-shot starter Wexford will have a spring in their step when they get back to work next week.
Wexford: D Fitzhenry; C Kehoe, G Cushe, S Flood; D Ruth (0-1), L O'Gorman, J Purcell; A Fenlon (0-1), R McCarthy (0-1); M Storey, R Hassey, M Jordan (0-1); T Dempsey (1-1), L Murphy (0-1), P Codd (1-7, five points from frees).
Tipperary: B Cummins; W Hickey, P Shelley, M Ryan; B Horgan, C Gleeson, Conal Bonnar; Colm Bonnar, J Carroll; P Kelly (0-1), D Ryan (0-2, one free), T Dunne; L Cahill (0-1), E O Neill (0-6, five frees), M Kennedy. Subs: L Sheedy for Gleeson (half-time); A Moloney for Colm Bonnar, half-time; L McGrath for T Dunne (55 mins).
Referee: S Cooney (Galway).
