Season Preview 2014 - Wexford Youths

Manager: Shane Keegan

Stadium: Ferrycarrig Park

Players In: Danny Furlong (Cork City), Peter Higgins, Killian Cantwell, Ben Ryan (all Waterford United), Dean Broaders (Thomastown United), Shane Dunne (Malahide United), Ricky Fox (Shamrock Rovers [Wexford]), Stephen Last (Firhouse Clover), Craig Shortt (Birr Town), Craig Wall, Sean Skelly (both Freebooters FC)

Players Out: Shaun Corcoran, Thomas Croke, Gary Delaney, Brian Nolan, Joey Mulcahy (all Waterford), Robert Maloney (Bray Wanderers), Paul Malone (Belgrove), Shane Clarke (Janesboro), Caolan O’Gorman (Released), Donal Shanley (Released)

Extratime.ie Key Man: DANNY FURLONG

Danny Furlong returns to Wexford Youths just a year after leaving them to join Cork City. Although the move to Cork only produced one goal in twelve games in the Premier Division last year, Danny definitely has what it takes to find the back of the net. He is still the record league goalscorer for the Youths, having scored thirty-six goals in his six-year spell there. Danny was also the joint highest goalscorer in the 2012 season, as he scored thirteen goals to propel Wexford to a fourth place finish, their highest in their short history. When the First Division starts, Wexford fans will no doubt be happy to see Danny Furlong leading their line.

Extratime.ie One to Watch: DANNY FITZPATRICK

Danny Fitzpatrick could be the other person in that forward line. Danny only made his debut late last season, in a 1-0 loss to Finn Harps in July. But once he made it into the squad, he never came back out of it, playing in the next eight games for the club. The nineteen year-old scored his first goals against Cobh Ramblers, scoring a brace in a 3-1 win, as Wexford picked up eleven points out of a possible twenty-one in games he started. While he does play left midfield, he does have a penchant for shooting at goal, testing the goalkeeper regularly in a game. This 2014 season might not be about one Wexford Danny leading the goalscoring charts but about two.

How they did last season:

League: 5^th

FAI Cup: Second Round

EA Sports Cup: Second Round

Top League Goalscorer: Aidan Keenan (6 goals)

What to expect for 2014:

The 2014 season has brought a new crest, a new kit and a lot of new faces to Wexford so it could take time for them to gel together. Their first competitive match seemed to show that with the Youths losing 4-1 to Athlone Town in the Leinster Senior Cup. But a major positive was that Danny Furlong scored the Wexford goal and he has also scored another two in four pre-season games.

Wexford have played three Premier Division sides for pre-season and a strong Carlow IT side. Wexford lost 2-0 to Dundalk, 2-1 to Carlow and 1-0 to Bray but they did beat Drogheda United 2-0, with both Danny Fitzpatrick and Danny Furlong scoring.

With a lot of strong teams in this year’s First Division, this might be a tough year for the Youths but they have kept some good players and have also made other beneficial signings so they could be the surprise pink package of the First Division.

Title Odds: 18/1

First Game: vs Shelbourne (Tolka Park - Fri 7^th March 2014)