All-Ireland SHC Quarter-finalsIan O'Riordan tries to unravel the mystery of how the men in purple and gold can rattle the best and then come badly unstuck when expectations rise
To analyse Wexford hurling at this time of the year you need to borrow that phrase How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
Where do you begin, and is there any point in even trying? Of the eight All-Ireland quarter-finalists their form is probably the most mysterious and hard to predict.
In the past three summers alone they've made Kilkenny look pedestrian, Cork unsettled, and Waterford prosaic.
Yet each time their season ended with the same two words: what happened?
What happened was this: somewhere along the line they played possibly the most inspired hurling of the year, and then blanked completely when it came to repeating it. They've either had a bit of luck on their side or no luck whatsoever. They've won plenty of admirers but precious few of the games that mattered most.
Now here they come again, back into Croke Park tomorrow to play Clare, and once more the head-scratching begins. Can they repeat the form of three weeks ago, when they could and possibly should have ended Kilkenny's air of invincibility for once and for all? That both teams are given an equal chance of winning says as much about Clare's recent inconsistencies as Wexford's, but if you had to bet on one team to blow it you'd have to fancy Wexford.
Last year alone proved how easily things change. Having beaten Kilkenny and then Offaly to win the Leinster title, they came up against Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final and lost by 18 points. Both physically and mentally it all seemed to go horribly wrong.
For manager Séamus Murphy the task of keeping the players focused is a new one, as he wasn't previously involved. So the two men who have been trying to avoid a repeat of such fatal mistakes are team trainer and selector Mick Kinsella and fitness coach Jim Kilty - who also watched from the sidelines a year ago. Together they've dared to look back in order to go forward.
"History will show that it takes little or nothing for Wexford to motivate themselves to play Kilkenny," says Kinsella. "And history will also show that it's a huge task to motivate them for the next game or two. We'll only know on Sunday if that is achieved or not.
"I know Wexford people are optimistic by nature, and we always go with hope in our soul. But having played so well against Kilkenny there is genuine hope there as well. I know other people are wondering if Wexford will do this or that, so I suppose we just won't know until the time comes."
Kilty's coaching techniques - based on the speed, agility and quickness principles of SAQ - certainly played a major part in Wexford's win over Kilkenny last year, and almost worked again back on July 3rd. He believes teams like Wexford need to adopt an entirely new attitude if they are to successfully embrace the new quarter-final format.
"I think hurling has come to a brand new stage this year," says Kilty. "No team has experienced this before, where the beaten provincial finalists have had a fair amount of time to prepare for the next step.
"But there's still a tradition in the GAA where teams make one big effort. It goes back to the idea of everything being put into the championship. Teams train for the whole year with it in mind. All of a sudden it comes along and you lose. So the whole idea of accepting defeat is heightened. That makes for a huge relief if they win, and huge down if they lose.
"That attitude has to change if the modern player is to cope with the new championship structure. To a large extent, the championship is no longer a knock-out competition, and yet that is something that is somehow still bred into squads, that failure has to be greeted by a long mourning period, instead of being able to shake out of it very quickly, and decide there's more to be done."
Wexford have progressed into the latter stages of the championship in both states of mind. In 2002, they came within two points of beating Kilkenny, and then had to play their qualifier against Clare just seven days later. They lost 3-15 to 3-7.
Last year's success in Leinster earned them a six-week lay-off before they faced Cork in the All-Ireland semi-finals - a team who this time had endured the provincial defeat. Despite the apparent advantages Wexford lost 1-27 to 0-12.
Kinsella has a few theories on what went wrong there, and the excitement caused by the win over Kilkenny is chief amongst them. Players subconsciously slipped into a comfort zone and didn't train they way they needed to. The whole county was tricked into a false sense of security. Wexford had a chance no matter how good or bad they played.
"I suppose that was in the mind of a lot of the supporters," admits Kinsella. "And there was an awful lot of hype about it, and an awful lot of expectation. And there was a lot of back-slapping going on as well. Wexford people definitely applaud good performances, but unfortunately that's not good enough to go out and win the next day."
As county secretary as well as team trainer, Kinsella has a finger on the pulse of both the players and the supporters. In both cases the level of expectation and apprehension is where it needs to be. Players were down after the defeat to Kilkenny, but there was no sense of throwing in the towel. They'd proven they were good enough to have a say in this year's championship.
"One of the lads said afterwards 'we were second in a two-horse race, and that means we were last'. That's the way we feel about it. We still feel gutted that we let Kilkenny back into the game, and that we couldn't get any further ahead. Kilkenny's tactics, whether they were deliberate or accidental, saw them bring Tommy Walsh and their second midfielder back, and that meant there were at least 16 players in their half of the field, and that made it impossible for us to score.
"So the lads were very down after it. There was never a stage when we didn't believe we were going to win. But we've had a much better lead in to the next game than most other years and I think the lads are very well focused this time. The system has worked out well. You have the eight best teams left, and I think you'll have the four best in the semi-finals."
Clare, however, come in equally loaded with both incentive and desire to win, and that, agrees Kinsella, makes the challenge all the more daunting: "The teams are very much diametrically opposed in terms of size and style of play. That creates an unknown territory in a sense. And size-wise they are way ahead of us.
"The big negative for us is that they did beat us in the National League in Wexford Park. And we got a trimming from them in the quarter-finals three years ago. So they have the psychological advantage, and would be ahead on points going into it. But the other thing about Clare is that they have a lot of players more or less in for their swansong, and they will die to win this, determined not to let their chance go either."
Kilty believes that if Wexford can get their attitude right then they've a great chance of winning. Physically, he says, they should be fine. Armagh footballer Kieran McGeeney said this week that players really only need 72 hours between matches, and Kilty agrees.
"There shouldn't be any physical problems, unless teams go drinking for a day or two after. It's more about the mental disappointment of not achieving the primary target of any given year. Having put in such a great effort, teams need a certain amount of time to overcome the grief, and the process of accepting defeat. No matter how good a team is.
"That is still new to the whole technique that has been built up around preparing GAA teams for championships. It's something that trainers and coaches and managers will now have to deal with. I know Wexford had to face that again this year, because they sincerely believed they were going to win the Leinster final. And not winning it was a big loss to their ambitions. But they do have to learn from the experience of that, and I think they are in good shape, both mentally and physically."
That healthy combination - while still being capable of playing inspired hurling on a whim - might be all that Wexford need to win tomorrow, and beyond.
2001-2004: The best of times, the worst of times
2001
June 10th, Leinster semi-final, Croke Park - Wexford 0-17 Laois 0-10: With Paul Codd shooting 0-10, Wexford set up their first Leinster final appearance since 1997.
July 8th, Leinster final, Croke Park - Kilkenny 2-19 Wexford 0-12: Wexford fail to match Kilkenny's strength and depth of talent as Charlie Carter collects 0-7, followed by Brian McEvoy and Henry Shefflin (0-4 each).
July 29th, All-Ireland quarter-final, Croke Park - Wexford 4-10 Limerick 2-15: In a remarkable recovery and turn of form, Wexford brush past a Limerick team who had beaten both Cork and Waterford on route to the Munster final. Goalkeeper Damien Fitzhenry is one of several Wexford heroes, scoring two goals from placed balls, while Paul Codd scores 1-2 and Rory McCarthy their fourth goal.
August 12th, All-Ireland semi-final, Croke Park - Wexford 3-10 Tipperary 1-16: In one of the most memorable comebacks in recent years Wexford tear into favourites Tipperary in a gripping second half, outscoring the Munster champions 3-5 to 0-7 thanks mainly to an inspired Larry O'Gorman, who scored 2-0, and the introduction of Martin Storey.
August 18th, All-Ireland semi-final replay, Croke Park - Tipperary 3-12 Wexford 0-10: Atrocious weather adds to a tempestuous affair, with Liam Dunne and Brian O'Meara both red-carded in the 32nd minute. Tipperary lead 1-6 to 0-8 at half-time, and it all goes downhill after that, with Michael Jordan also sent off.
2002
June 9th, Leinster semi-final, Thurles - Wexford 3-15 Dublin 2-12: A somewhat nervous passage into the final sees Wexford once again rely on the experienced hands of O'Gorman (2-1) and Codd (0-4).
July 7th, Leinster final, Croke Park - Kilkenny 0-19 Wexford 0-17: Wexford surprise many by pushing Kilkenny to the limits.
July 14th, All-Ireland qualifier, Portlaoise - Clare 3-15 Wexford 3-7: With just seven days recovery from their Leinster final, a leg-weary Wexford never get within sight of victory.
2003
June 8th, Leinster semi-final, Nowlan Park - Wexford 0-16 Offaly 1-12: After an incredibly tight and exciting contest Wexford emerge as one-point winners.
July 6th, Leinster final, Croke Park - Kilkenny 2-23 Wexford 2-12: Third successive provincial final defeat to Kilkenny. Shefflin and Eddie Brennan combine to put 2-9 past the Wexford defence, and Leinster hurling looks doomed once again.
July 19th, All-Ireland qualifier, Nowlan Park - Wexford 1-20 Waterford 0-18: Once again Wexford raise their game in the second half to topple the beaten Munster finalists.
July 27th, All-Ireland quarter-final, Croke Park - Wexford 2-15 Antrim 2-12: Despite being the overwhelming favourites, Wexford almost blow it, allowing Antrim build a 2-5 to 0-6 advantage at half-time.
August 10th, All-Ireland semi-final, Croke Park - Wexford 3-17 Cork 2-20: Against all the odds - and the background of their poor show against Antrim - Wexford simply refuse to lie down, and Rory McCarthy's goal in injury time forces the replay.
August 16th, All-Ireland semi-final replay, Croke Park - Cork 3-17 Wexford 2-7: Here's where they go off the map again. Despite an encouraging start, with Larry Murphy helping them to a 2-1 to 0-4 lead, Cork outscore them 1-9 to 0-4 in the second half.
2004
June 13th, Leinster semi-final, Croke Park - Wexford 2-15 Kilkenny 1-16: The comeback to match all comebacks and the shock of the entire hurling championship, if not the decade. Kilkenny are deemed unbeatable, and yet Wexford match them point-for-point before delivering the classic last-minute goal for a classic victory.
July 4th, Leinster final, Croke Park - Wexford 2-12 Offaly 1-11: Suddenly Wexford find themselves in the unusual position of being overwhelming favourites, but they live up to the hype, deservedly claiming their first Leinster title in seven years.
August 15th, All-Ireland semi-final, Croke Park - Cork 1-27 Wexford 0-12: Possibly the lowest point of the past four years, as Cork quickly smoother all the renewed hope and expectation.
