Cork dump Wexford out of All-Ireland hurling championship
Sunday 5 July 2015 15:08, UK
Conor Lehane was the star as Cork produced a stunning first half performance to defeat Wexford by 2-22 to 0-20 in the All Ireland SHC Qualifiers.
The tie was expected to be the game of the round but it only became a contest in the third quarter as Wexford cut a 14-point half-time deficit to just seven.
The home side held the balance of play through this period as Ian Byrne picked away at the visitors' lead with a series of converted frees.
With the home crowd energised, the expectation was that the margin would be cut further but then Conor Lehane popped-up with a sublime score which re-calibrated the contest in Cork's favour.
Wexford would enjoy plenty of possession from here to the finish but their shot and pass selection yielded only wides when ultimately, they needed goals and lots of them.
They never really looked like raising a green flag throughout and Cork captain Anthony Nash went untested in the nets.
But then at half-time it was difficult to see Wexford being in the contest at any stage.
Cork had gotten off to the best possible start with Pat Horgan, Damien Cahalane and Brian Lawton all pointing before Conor Lehane goaled to leave Cork leading by 1-3 to 0-1 after just five minutes.
Lehane gathered a huge puck-out from Nash and his goal signalled a scoring burst that bagged him 1-6 in the match and helped Cork rack up 2-17 in the first half.
The Midleton man was the contest's outstanding player, exuding confidence when in possession and dispatching with accuracy.
For much of the game he was a symbol of all that Wexford were not.
Despite their crushing loss at the hands of Kilkenny, the home side arrived armed with more than hope but it looked as though they would need a huge dollop of that and more by the end of the opening quarter.
Everything Cork touched raised a flag, almost, and Pat Horgan's frees landed like hammer blows.
There was worse to come when Seamus Harnedy followed up his own shot for goal - brilliantly saved by Mark Fanning - to bat to the net.
Wexford now trailed by 2-10 to 0-4 and only Ian Byrne looked capable of interfering with their parade to victory.
He built a steady tally of frees but against the form of Lehane, Horgan et al, there was no sense that the singles would spur any fight-back.
But Wexford returned after the interval to make a game of it in the second half now backed by a wind that they opted to play against through the first.
And somehow, Cork failed to score for 20 minutes, as Wexford came and came again.
But really, the Rebels' victory march was never going to stop. It just slowed for a long enough to prove worrisome for Jimmy Barry Murphy in the weeks ahead.
Wexford: M Fanning; L Ryan, M O Hanlon, E Moore; A Shore, L Chin, P Foley; D Redmond(0-2), A Nolan(0-1); D O Keeffe, K Foley(0-1), I Byrne(0-12 9f); P Morris(0-1), C McDonald(0-1), L Og McGovern.
Subs: A Kenny for E Moore(17), D Waters for A Nolan(30), H Keogh(0-2) for P Foley(31), R Jacob for L Óg McGovern(47), G Sinnott for K Foley(65)
Cork: A Nash; D Cahalane(0-1), S McDonnell, B Murphy; A Walsh, M Ellis, C Murphy; D Kearney, B Cooper(0-2); C Lehane(1-6), P Cronin(0-1), B Lawton(0-2); A Cadogan, S Harnedy(1-1), P Horgan(0-9 5f)
Subs: S Moylan for S Harnedy(50), D McCarthy for A Cadogan(70), B Sullivan for P Cronin(71)
Referee: A Kelly (Galway)
