Walsh Cup Final

Dublin 2-29 Wexford 0-19

By Shane Stapleton at Croke Park

Dublin dominated Wexford in the Walsh Cup final to reclaim the title after a six-year absence.

Mattie Kenny’s side had 16 different scorers over the 70 minutes at Croke Park, as Donal Burke top-scored with 0-10.

It handed the Galway native his first silverware as Dubs manager, as Fergal Whitely and substitute Ronan Hayes both hit the net during a pulsating display.

It was a chastening defeat for new Wexford boss Darragh Egan, whose side now have a quick turnaround to their league opener at home to Limerick next weekend.

Dublin ruled the first half on the scoreboard and the wasteful nature of Wexford’s play contributed hugely to that.

Egan’s men hit four wides inside five minutes, while the Dubs settled with three Donal Burke points before Colin Currie added one of his own.

Wexford’s Kevin Foley limped off early, and his replacement Mike Dwyer fired over a couple of scores to close the gap to 0-7 to 0-4 by the 18th minute.

As the visitors continued to hit wides — ten in all during that opening period — Dublin found another gear. 

St Vincent’s duo Rian McBride and Conor Burke opened their accounts before that tardy green flag made its first appearance.

Fergal Whitely fed the ball to Aidan Mellett, whose low shot was smothered by Mark Fanning, before Mellett flicked the ball across the square for Whitely to profit.

After outscoring Wexford by 1-6 to 0-1 in a 10-minute burst, the Models then hit three in a row through Diarmuid O’Keeffe, Jack O’Connor and Seamus Casey.

Kenny sent on livewire Hayes just before the break, and the Kilmacud man found the net just minutes later after having his initial effort stopped — 2-14 to 0-9 at half time.

Wexford had a mountain to climb and, in truth, the game was over as a contest as the Dubs hit eight of the next 10 points after the break.

Burke was imperious with his frees, while Mellett, Conor Burke, Danny Sutcliffe, and Daire Gray all got their names on the scoresheet.

Eamon ‘Trollier’ Dillon came on and scored a nice point in the 48th minute, in the process becoming the 13th man in blue to raise a flag from open play.

Both managers ran their benches in the latter stages as the game took on a challenge match feel.

Oisin Pepper hit two fine points and Billy Dunne knocked over a couple of frees, while Dillon, Paul Crummey, Sean Currie and Davy Keigh all made further scoring impacts from the Dublin bench.

Kenny’s men will face Waterford next weekend as they look to continue their rich vein of form.

For Egan, whose last appearance on the Croke Park sideline had been as Tipperary coach when they claimed an All-Ireland title in 2019, he will hope for a much-improved performance against the current champions on their next outing.

Scorers for Dublin: Donal Burke 0-10 (0-9f); Ronan Hayes 1-0; Conor Burke 0-3; Fergal Whitely 1-2; Eamon Dillon 0-2, Sean Currie 0-2f; Colin Currie, Aidan Mellett, Cian O'Callaghan, Daire Gray, James Madden, Chris Crummey, Davy Keogh, Danny Sutcliffe, Paul Crummey, Rian McBride 0-1.

Scorers for Wexford: Mike Dwyer 0-3; Billy Dunne, Seamus Casey 0-3f; Oisin Pepper, Liam Og McGovern 0-2; Jack O’Connor, Damien Reck, Diarmuid O’Keeffe, Conor McDonald, Oisin Foley 0-1; Paudie Foley 0-1f

D****UBLIN: Seán Brennan; Andrew Dunphy, Eoghan O'Donnell, Cian O'Callaghan; Daire Gray, Paddy Smyth, James Madden; Conor Burke, Chris Crummey; Danny Sutcliffe, Rian McBride, Dónal Burke; Fergal Whitely, Colin Currie, Aidan Mellett

Subs: Ronan Hayes for C Currie (34); Eamon Dillon for Mellett (46); John Bellew for Gray (52); John Hetherton for Sutcliffe, Davy Keogh for Whitely (60); Sean Moran for Crummey (61); Luke Walsh for O’Callaghan, Paul Crummey for McBride, Sean Currie for D Burke (64); Kevin Burke for Madden (65).

WEXFORD: Mark Fanning; Conor Devitt, Liam Ryan, Matt O’Hanlon; Connal Flood, Paudie Foley, Damien Reck; Jack O’Connor, Diarmuid O’Keeffe; Oisin Foley, Liam Og McGovern, Kevin Foley; Paul Morris, Conor McDonald, Seamus Casey

Subs: Mike Dwyer for K Foley (10); Cathal Dunbar for J O’Connor (35+1); Charlie McGuckin for O Foley (39); Oisin Pepper for Morris (43); Simon Donohue for Flood (47); Billy Dunne for Casey (52); Kyle Scallan for Devitt, Aodhan Doyle for O’Keeffe (59); Richie Lawlor for McDonald, David Dunne for McGovern (61).

Referee: Patrick Murphy (Carlow).