By Gerard Mulreaney (@gerardmulreaney)
It took Wexford fourteen games into the season before they registered their first league victory in 2017, but on Friday night they left Stradbrook with a 1-0 win over Cabinteely in the first game of 2018.
Damian Locke’s men, who many pundits haven’t given much hope to, took just eight minutes to go in front against Pat Devlin’s side.
Dean Kelly played a through ball to Aaron Dobbs who slipped a ball across to Sean Hurley to score. Both Hurley and Dobbs had chances to increase the lead but Cabinteely goalkeeper Stephen McGuinness was up to the challenge.
It was a well deserved win for Locke’s charges and he was delighted to pick up the win. He said, “It is always great to get off to a winning start. With the majority of the group remaining from last season it kind of felt like we just picked up from where we left off, so that was great to see.”
“It was a really big challenge on the night, dealing with a lot of pressure from Cabo as they threw a lot of bodies forward but the boys were a credit. We were also missing our captain Ross Kenny, so that makes the 3 points even more satisfying.”
Locke knows his side need to be focused with further challenges ahead, “It’s a good start but that’s all it is, a start. We need to go again this Friday,” against UCD in Ferrycarrig Park, “and then it’s a quick turnaround into Tuesdays EA Sports Cup game at home to Cobh Ramblers.”
Match-winner on the night Sean Hurley also spoke to us saying, “look the game itself wasn't a great spectacle. The pitch at Stradbrook was in poor condition, which I think suited our style of play as opposed to Cabinteely’s on the night. A lot of direct football was played and we were trying to sit in and catch them on the break.”
Hurley was very happy to get on the scoresheet, “Obviously I'm delighted as well to have scored the winning goal and help the team get all 3 points, which I think we fully deserved. We’ve had a good pre-season behind us this year and there is a great atmosphere in the dressing room. Hopefully we can put last year behind us and finish in a good position this season.”
Picture Credits: Paul Lundy (Cabinteely FC), Wexford FC
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