At 2 p.m. a crowd of around 500 stood and faced the loudspeaker for a crackling, recorded version of Amhrain na bhFiann. At the end of the anthem, the roar of a crowd from sunnier days filtered through the speaker across the ground. A few among us smiled. Referee John Sexton threw the ball in, 10 seconds later the first hurl was snapped and four seconds after that came the first yellow card. So began the 2001 Allianz National Hurling League in Rathdowney.
Wexford, the favourites to come through the fray in this gentle parish, won out, putting daylight between themselves and their hosts with two early goals. They were happy enough to wrestle out a victory in the mud thereafter and although new manager Tony Dempsey was "overjoyed" with the result, the experience did little to alter his belief that early February hurling is a grave brand of foolishness.
"The pitch was unplayable. It was ludicrous to see a ball hopping on the ground and water splashing up. Playing on an unplayable pitch is no way to promote hurling."
The manager went to pains to stress that his comments were not directed at the local club but rather at those who orchestrate the league. Few punters felt inclined to impart with their £7 on this most dismal of Sundays; those who did encountered a pair of teams hungry and willing but bogged down in marshland. The wonder was that they managed to manufacture any scores at all.
Word from Wexford has been that the team is well into a training regime and yesterday suggested as much. With a defence founded on bedrocks such as the Guiney twins, captain Darragh Tyan and half back Declan Ruth, they showed sharpness and imagination in manufacturing their scores.
The first goal, after four minutes, arose from a perfect sideline cut from Adrian Fenlon. The sliotar sailed through the gloom for all of 60 yards and somehow deceived John Lyons, who stood awaiting with his hand in the air, in a pose patented by Fabien Barthez, before misjudging the flight.
If that score was fortuitous, then Wexford's second was of a sharper cut. With 18 minutes gone, the impressive Rory McCarthy whipped a precise pass to Micheal Jacob, he squared a pass for Larry O'Gorman and the rejuvenated full forward swash-buckled his way through a few challenges before kicking the ball to the net.
That left the score at 2-3 to 02 and for Laois, the afternoon task began to look fruitless. Their problems were compounded by erratic free-taking from the normally unerring David Cuddy.
The home side challenged well and had spirit and drive aplenty in key performers such as Paul Cuddy, Enda Meagher and James Young, a strapping attacker who has a devout faith in route one.
David Cuddy gradually found his mark, cracking over a beautiful score after 21 minutes but in general the home scores came at a trickle. A blustery row broke out nine minutes after the break, leading to the dismissal of Young and Rod Guiney and even though the skirmish warmed the crowd, it did little to alter the pattern of the game. Wexford soaked up most of Laois's attacking efforts comfortably and sniper Chris McGrath kept his side comfortably ahead with his frees.
"I felt sorry for both of them," said Tony Dempsey of the dismissals.
"It was teak-tough hurling out there and Rod got a smack early on. The second one caught him in the eye and caused a bit of an altercation. It didn't help that the ball was held up by the soggy pitch and I hope whoever looks at the sendings-off will take that into consideration."
As a lone dog barked voluminously, we sought for the occasional fleeting jewel in the play. Barry Goff floated a beautiful score after 50 minutes and David Cuddy forced a brilliant save from Damien Fitzhenry late in the game, when Laois were seeking consolation. As Dempsey said, the goals swung it and had Laois bagged a few at the outset, the result could easily have been reversed.
But fortunes will fluctuate plenty over the coming drab weeks of early spring. The most that can be said about this match is just that: it was a game. Write it off at that.
WEXFORD: D Fitzhenry; C Kehoe, R Guiney, F Guiney; L Dunne, D Ryan, D Ruth; A Fenlon (1-0), R Stafford; R McCarthy (0-1), M Byrne (0-1), M Jacob (0-1); C McGrath (0-5,frees), L O'Gorman (1-0), B Goff (0-1). Subs: L Murphy for B Goff (55 mins), P Finn (0-1) for M Byrne (68 mins), M Jordan for R McCarthy (73 mins).
LAOIS: J Lyons; D Killeen, N Lacey, P Mahon; N Rigney, P Cuddy, R Delaney; E Meagher (0-1), C Cuddy (0-1); D Conroy, D Cuddy (0-5, three frees), F O'Sullivan (0-1); PJ Peacock, J Young (0-1), D Culleton. Subs: J O'Sullvian for D Killeen (39 mins), S Dwyer for D Conroy, P Phelan for PJ Peacock (63 mins), J O'Shea for D Culleton (66 mins), M Kirwan for E Meagher (73 mins).
Referee: J Sexton (Limerick).
