Wexford need a big performance from the talismanic Lee Chin against Clare.
By John Harrington
If one moment summed up the combination of character and quality that Wexford played with to beat Kilkenny in this evening’s Leinster SHC Semi-Final victory, it was Lee Chin’s point after 56 minutes.
Kilkenny had just scored two quick-fire goals to close within a point and looked like the team with all the momentum.
But just when his county badly needed a leader to step forward, Chin answered the call.
He caught Mark Fanning’s puck-out, drove forward with the ball, and fired over an absolutely inspirational point from long distance that reinvigorated the Wexford supporters as well as his team-mates.
That was the moment when Wexford made it clear they simply weren’t going to be denied victory.
“There's an element (of leadership) that's needed every day,” said Chin after the match. “Look it, today it was me and the next day it could be another guy.
“I knew when we got hit with a couple of goals it was going to take a certain moment to really get everyone going again. Luckily Mark Fanning pucked the ball down my way and I caught it and put it over the bar.
“Another day it could have been somebody else, there's a lot of leaders in this team.”
It was certainly a consummate team performance from Wexford, but Chin’s display in the final 15 minutes was something to behold as he drove his team forward time and again.
“I think the catch he made on the far side of the field will probably live long in the memory,” said Wexford coach JJ Doyle after the match.
“No one knew he had it. I was talking to Matthew O’Hanlon and he said he didn’t know he had it until he saw him running forward with it in his hand because no one expected it but that’s Lee Chin.
“I mean he’s a phenomenal athlete but it’s not a fluke either. The work he puts in, he’s completely and utterly dedicated to it and he stood up.
“A lot of players, Jack Guiney for this first start of the year, Matthew O’Hanlon there at the end, Shaun Murphy there at the end. There was a lot of talk about what Kilkenny were going to do to negate Shaun Murphy but, in fairness to him, he got on some amount of ball.”
Davy Fitzgerald
In the final analysis, Wexford won most of the key battles for most of the game, but Kilkenny were able to stay in the contest thanks to a never-say-die attitude and ability to hit goals against the run of play.
That wasn’t enough to win the match though, because they ran up against a team that matched them for character and had enough faith in their game-plan to stick to it despite the jarring nature of those goals.
“We waited a long time for this, 13 years since the last victory over Kilkenny at Croke Park,” said Doyle.
“That was one we probably stole with a goal in the last minute. A lot of the lads have worked so hard for this and for so many years.
“Thankfully we got over the line tonight and I think we deserved it – there was no fluke about it. Kilkenny got probably a couple of soft goals, turnovers on our behalf.
“But I suppose the most important thing was that they just kept responding, the heads never dropped. We were eight points up, they get two goals and the next ball we get it and go up and score a point. That just shows the character that’s within the squad.
“It’s something we’ve spoken to the lads about, no matter what happens the referee doesn’t add up the score until the 70th minute so you are always in the game if you keep trying and keep working and keep driving on. We have worked very hard on the fitness levels over the last number of years and particularly since last November and you could see it there in the second half, we just kept running.
“And we needed to run because of the wind that was out there. If you pucked the ball into it then it would just keep coming back to you.
“The lads just stuck to the process and stuck to the game-plan. At times they could have maybe dropped the heads and given up on it, and that’s probably what would have happened in the past, but they just kept going and going and going.
“Listen, I thought what has happened in the past – where Kilkenny get the goal in the last minute was going to happen only for the save that Mark Fanning made. Days like this will live long long in the memory because we haven’t had too many of them.”
It’s been some turn-around for a team that was hammered by Dublin in the Leinster Championship last year. How have they made such progress in such a short space of time?
Lee Chin has boiled it down to one crucial quality
“Belief,” he said after the match. “I've mentioned it before. Davy has us very confident. Very confident in each other and very confident in the team and our plan.
“I suppose as well the start we got in the National League is helping us as well in terms of being behind in a couple of big games and pulling it back too. That's given us confidence along the way.
“The more games you play and the more you win, the more confidence grows. I suppose that was a result of today as well.
“Davy has us very grounded. We try to do a lot of things under the radar. We came into this game as underdogs and we like it that way. We went out and a lot of lads performed and some others didn't go so well, but another couple of weeks will have us right for a Leinster Final.”
