Officialdom carnage in Ferrycarrig this afternoon after a set of Dublin officials gave two straight reds for dissent, one to an already substituted player in the dug-out; yellow cards flashed like confetti in a match in which the trainers came on once to deal with a cramp; two penalties given, one very harsh and a linesman who in the space of two minutes twice penalised Wexford for breaching the touchline at throw-ins - a signal I don't think I've ever seen at Ferrycarrig before. The only topic amongst spectators at the end was the standard of the officials but the better side probably went through on the final whistle as the defending champions, the Clare League, reached the Oscar Traynor final on a 2-0 scoreline against the Wexford League.
Wexford started with Lee Walker, Warren Broaders, Decky Downes, Gareth McCurtain, Ian (?) Sinnott, John Peare, Shane Dempsey, Lee Wadding, Eugene O'Brien and with Spot Murphy and Kyle Dempsey up front. With a strong breeze and dry pitch, the match was well-contested rather than of top quality with both sides generally happy to clip the ball forward rather than dwelling on the ball. On 12 minutes, Wexford's Lee Walker did well to save a close-in header with his legs. On 21 minutes, a good Wexford move put Shane Dempsey in the clear with an attempt at a left-footed volley, but he couldn't keep it on target. On 27 minutes, Clare were awarded the first of two penalties and a harsh one it was with Warren Broaders having to swivel to watch a ball going over his head right at the edge of the box, and his contact with the blindside Clare player was deemed a peno with hardly any appeal. This was despatched past Lee Walker and the Clare League were ahead. The standard of poor refereeing was continued as Lee Wadding got a yellow for blocking a clearance which smacked him in the chest. Kyle Dempsey was then through on goal but the ball was taken off his toe by the last Clare defender for a corner. Decky Downes then had a free header which went straight to the Clare keeper and the half finished with a 1-0 deficit for Wexford but they would have the advantage of the wind in the second half.
The second half started with two corners apiece before Wexford's Gareth McCurtain sliced an attempted clearance towards his own goal but fortunately straight at Lee Walker. From about the hour mark, Clare seemed to retreat more into their own half as Wexford applied the pressure but you could say that Wexford never really looked like getting on the scoreline despite the pressure. On 65 minutes, Adam Beary of North End came on as a sub for Wexford and injected a bit of life up front. With 73 minutes gone, Decky Downes had a reasonably free header at the far post but put it wide. With ten to go, the referee awarded his second peno when Lee Walker brought down the Clare forward inside the Wexford penalty area. I was a long way from it but it looked like the Clare forward made the most of any contact. This time the peno was straight down the middle and Clare were 2-0 up. The match basically descended into farce at this stage as the referee picked out the substituted Gareth McCurtain in the Wexford dug-out and showed him a straight red, presumably for dissent. The linesman's decision that two normal throw-ins by Wexford had breached the touchline wound up Wexford's substitute, Leighton Gleeson, so much that he appeared to tell the official concerned to **** off and he also got a straight red for his indiscretion. Adam Beary had a late chance to notch one for Wexford but, on the stretch, knocked his effort two feet wide and the Clare League were through to the final on a 2-0 scoreline. Wexford had applied a lot of pressure in the second half but a strong Clare defence in the air had dominated. Best for Wexford were the "old reliables" of Spot Murphy and Shane Dempsey while Decky Downes also impressed at the back for the Wexford League.
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