2021 Season Preview: Wexford

Manager: Brian O Sullivan

Stadium: Ferrycarrig Park, Wexford

Players in: Paul Fox (Cabinteely), Jack Doherty (Longford Town), Anthony Dolan (Newtown Rangers), Jimmy Corcoran (Dundalk), Jack Connolly (Cabinteely), Paul Cleary (St Patricks Athletic), Cian Kavanagh (Drogheda), Luke Turner (Aberdeen), Kyle Robinson (St Patrick's Athletic), Alex O Hanlon (Shelbourne), Jack Larkin (Waterford).

Players out: Emmet Nugent (Freebooters), Paddy Cahill (Freebooters), Lee Costello (n/a), Craig Giles (n/a), Janobi Amour Jnr (n/a), Andrew O Connor (n/a), Liam Berry (n/a), Conor English (n/a), Jack Lydon (n/a), Malike Benrouguibi (n/a), Azeef Youseff (n/a), Sean Roche (n/a), Giampiero Fragnolli (n/a).

Extratime.com key man: Dan Tobin

Dan Tobin captains the Wexford side for the second successive season and he will be looking to add his experience to what is a very youthful side that Brian O Sullivan has put together for the year ahead.

Tobin is an ultra-reliable, ultra-dependable right back, very much in the Denis Irwin mode, and he is also adept at marauding down the right wing in support of the attacking function of the team.

A product of UCD where he won a First Division medal in 2018, he chose to go down the part time football route as opposed to the full-time route chosen by some of his former UCD colleagues, the likes of Gary O’Neill (Shamrock Rovers), Jason McClelland (St Patricks Athletic) and Conor Kearns (Galway United), among others.

Tobin does have over 30 Premier Division matches under his belt however from his time at Belfield so he will be one of the players Wexford will look to for inspiration when they tackle the likes of Cork City, Shelbourne and Galway Utd this season.

Extratime.com One to Watch: Paul Fox

Paul Fox is a 21- year-old midfielder who joined the club from Cabinteely in Feb 2021.  Paul came through the underage system at Cabinteely before making his senior debut against Cobh Ramblers while only 17 years of age.

He made 56 appearances for the South Dublin club so will come with a degree of experience and youthful enthusiasm that potentially will add an extra dimension to Wexford’s options in midfield.

A left footed player, Paul played in all four of Wexford’s preseason games and will be looking to get off to a good start and get one over his former team mates if selected in Wexford’s opening match of the season against Cabinteely next Friday night, March 26^th.

How they did last season:

First Division

2020 was a very disappointing season for Wexford as they finished in 10^th position in the 10 team First Division. The season was truncated to 18 matches but Wexford could only accumulate 12 points and finished at bottom of the table.

The stand out moment for the club last season unfortunately was not played out on the pitch but rather in the FAI meeting rooms in Abbotstown.

The FAI Appeals committee found the club guilty of fielding an illegible player in games against Athlone Town, Cabinteely, Shamrock Rovers II and Cobh Ramblers, games that took place between July and August of last year. As a consequence, Wexford forfeited all 4 games on a 3-0 score line.

The club will be looking to put that debacle behind them this year and hope that the focus will be back on their performances on the pitch rather than off the pitch.

FAI Cup

Wexford were involved in an 8-goal thriller in the FAI Cup match against Athlone Town in Lissywollen back on August 28^th, however despite scoring 3 of the goals they still came out on the wrong side of the result, losing 3-5 to the midlands team.

They were in the driving seat up to half time following two first half goals, a 18^th penalty from Jack Doherty and a 20^th minute strike from Conor English, however they collapsed in the second half and allowed the home side score five goals, one an own goal from Karl Manahan, and despite James Carroll netting their third goal in the 67^th minute, they can have no complaints about the final result.

The only consolation they can take from the game is that Athlone themselves went on to have a great Cup run and managed to go all the way to the semi final before being well beaten by Dundalk

What to expect this season

Wexford endured a difficult year last season, on and off the pitch, and if pre season friendlies are any indicator of form then they may well struggle again this season.

They played four preseason matches against Galway Utd, Waterford, Shelbourne and St Patricks Athletic and scored only one goal, Karl Fitzsimons penalty against Shels, while conceding thirteen goals.

These games are not always the most reliable of indicators as they are used to integrate new signings and Wexford certainly were very busy on that front bringing in no less than 13 new players to the club during the close season.

Manager Brian O Sullivan has tried to add some experienced players to his squad and it will be interesting to see how players such as Alex O Hanlon (Ex- Liverpool U 23, St Patricks Athletic, Glentoran and Shelbourne), Anthony Dolan (ex- Fulham, Cabinteely and Newtown Rangers) and Paul Cleary (ex- St Patricks Athletic), all in their early to mid-20’s, perform over the course of the season.

The big tests for O Sullivan’s side will be when they take on the big guns of the league, the likes of Galway Utd (now a full- time outfit), Cork City, Shelbourne and Bray Wanderers.

O Sullivan is on record as saying he recognises the difference between the bigger guns and the likes of Wexford – ‘’ you have got to be realistic – budgets often dictate where teams end up each year’’ he said.

Wexford have Cabinteely at home and Treaty Utd away in their first two league outings, games that will allow them to develop a rhythm and some momentum before they head for Tolka Park to take on Shelbourne over Easter on April 9^th.

Title Odds: 25/1.

First Match: Cabinteely (Home) , Friday March 26^th , 19.45