Model dreams: 'Imagine Kerry coming to Wexford Park'

Driving home from Wexford Park last Sunday after a day of high drama for the Yellowbellies, former player Anthony Masterson was trying to put a bit of perspective on things with his father.

Masterson was one of many in the 3,232 crowd that was swept away by Seán Ryan's last-gasp goal that secured a second successive promotion and Division 2 football for the first time since 2013.

The footage from Wexford Park was arguably the highlight of the final day of group action in this year’s Allianz League, a shot in the arm for the county footballers, who have long been in the hurlers’ shadows.

Seven years in Division 4 did little to swell local interest, and in truth, there have been far more lows than highs.

In 2021 they turned over Wicklow for a first win in Leinster in seven years (and a first championship win of any note since a qualifier victory over Limerick four years previous) and 12 months later they stunned Offaly on home soil.

But for the sheer intensity of it, Masterson feels you have to go back to 2008 when Wexford overturned an 11-point deficit to shock Meath in a Leinster quarter-final, a game Masterson was between the posts for.

"Just for the pure elation of it," he says. "It was the biggest day in years.

"Wexford have had some bleak, bleak days. Your family is all you are playing in front of sometimes. To have that pure elation on Sunday was brilliant for them, the rewards for hard work.

"Sometimes back in our day when we got a big crowd, we failed to deliver. They are hurling supporters who come for the big games. I must have met 15-20 people at half-time saying it was the first football game they had been to in six or seven years.

"It’s great for Wexford football. They didn’t really perform but they delivered a crazy result. Supporters won’t care about the performance, they see the drama at the end. More now will go to Croke Park, and hopefully next month against Louth in the Leinster championship."

In a hurling-dominated county, days like these can have a long-lasting impact.

Masterson was Football Development Administrator for six years and knows the struggle in keeping talented underage players focused on football.

In the last year this has become an even greater task with players in underage development squads forced to pick a code.

"That’s disappointing from a football point of view," he says, noting that while there are 120 on the Wexford hurling Under-14 panel, there are just 48 in with the footballers.

"That was always 50/50."

When John Hegarty took charge ahead of the 2023 season, he assumed control of a team whose previous league campaign yielded a sixth-place finish in Division 4.

Now – barring provincial heroics from a Sligo or an Antrim in Connacht and Ulster respectively – they are a win away from competing in the All-Ireland series.

Masterson, a sub when Wexford took on Armagh in 2005 in a Division 2 final and part of the side that reached a first Leinster final in more than 50 years in 2008, says there is genuine ambition that better days lie ahead.

"The main target is achieved, but it will be in the back of their minds that if they beat Down, they could be playing for Sam Maguire," he says. "Imagine what that would do for the county.

"Imagine a championship draw where Kerry or Donegal come to Wexford Park. Are they ready for that yet? Possibly not, but you can never turn down that opportunity either."

Having won all seven league games last year, Wexford may have fallen short against Limerick in the Division 4 decider, but the main feeling was one of relief; escaping the bottom tier was a seven-year slog.

Only the likes of Eoghan Nolan, Glen Malone, Shane Doyle, Mark Rossiter (pictured above) and Ben Brosnan had prior experience of Division 3, but with a settled, steady squad, Hegarty is reaping the rewards of a strong core group that arrived together at senior level. Down proved too tough a nut to crack, while Peter Nash's late, late goal for Limerick secured a dramatic win in Rathkeale in a game the hosts never led until injury time.

"The lads don’t play for Wexford for the limelight. At away games, there are about 10 or 15 of us from the Castletown club, and a hardcore group of 50-100 that go to every game. You might get 500-1000 on a Saturday evening into Wexford Park.

"The most difficult thing about being in Division 4 is trying to have the standards of a Division 2 team, and apply yourself accordingly.

"Since John came in, he has brought them on to a new level."

Wexford enter this evening's final very much the underdogs, with table-toppers Down coasting to a 10-point win when the sides met last month.

Odhran Mudrock, Daniel McGuinnes and Pat Havern caused untold damage in Wexford Park, while Masterson was suitably impressed by the performance of netminder Ronan Burns.

"He gave an exhibition on kick-outs," Masterson recalls, noting how Liam Coleman and Niall Hughes were subsequently unable to exert any control around the middle for the hosts.

Down’s defeat to Laois last time out – while academic – could also play into Wexford’s hands.

"In 2012 we played Longford in our last league game and then again in the final and we sort of took our foot off the pedal for that last league game. Longford beat us and we couldn’t get it going again in the final the following week.

"Sometimes momentum can be key. All the pressure will be on Down as they won so comfortably at Wexford Park. They are not a Division 3 team, they are a very worthy Division 2 side."

Goalkeeper Darragh Brooks has been crucial from placed balls (12 two-point frees in the campaign to date) while, as Westmeath manager Mark McHugh observed last week, the Slaneysiders have an array of accurate shooters from outside the arc.

Paudie Hughes, Sean Nolan and Mark Rossiter are among those who know how to raise an orange flag, while line breakers such the aforementioned Hughes and Nolan, Jack Higgins and Cian Hughes will be crucial in keeping the Mourne defence honest.

With a Leinster championship clash with Louth just three weeks away, regardless of the outcome in Croke Park, there is growing optimism within the county.

Louth, who only narrowly missed out of promotion to Division 1, will provide a stern test, but Masterson feels the Wee County provide a blueprint for defying expectations.

"It gives Wexford inspiration," he says. "Two years ago we weren’t a million miles away from them (two late goals from captain Sam Mulroy delivered a 4-10 to 0-15 win at O’Moore Park), but what they have done is physically they are an imposing team and can mix it with the big boys. They have obviously pushed on since then.

"People will expect Wexford to come straight back down from Division 2 next year, but the same would have been said about Louth a few years ago."

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