James Keddy: ‘For a club like Wexford to get to an FAI Cup semi-final is a major achievement’

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Wexford manager James Keddy has told his players to savour the occasion when they face Drogheda United in Sunday’s FAI Cup semi-final.

The Slaneysiders reached the last four of the competition having already seen off Leinster Senior League opposition in Wayside Celtic and Ballyfermot United.

They also dismissed fellow First Division outfit Treaty United in the quarter final.

But their showdown with Kevin Doherty’s Drogheda United will be their toughest yet with Derry City awaiting the victors in the November 10 final at the Aviva Stadium.

“I can't change the draw we had and people might say we were lucky with the draw, but I'd rather be lucky than not,” Keddy tells extratime.com on Wexford’s path to the semi-final. 

“You can only beat what's in front of you as well but, realistically, I'm sure Kevin was delighted with the draw. 

“I'm sure Bohs and Derry were hoping to draw us as well. They are Premier Division teams and full-time, so you can't blame them. 

“We’re a First Division team and we’re very young but there's a lot of pressure on them to win the game. Everyone's expecting them to get into the final so that creates its own pressure as well.”

This year is the first time that Wexford have reached the last four of the competition having previously been knocked out of the FAI Cup at the quarter-final stage last season by Cork City.

And that progress is something that Keddy is very proud of.



“We got to the quarter-finals last year and we were a bit unlucky against Cork. But for a club like Wexford to get to an FAI Cup semi-final is a major achievement," Keddy admitted.

"Even the media leading up to the semi-final... The club is not used to it and that’s no disrespect to the club.

“It's nice to be involved in the semi-finals and I know what it's about. It's all about what happens on the day but it's great for the club. 

“It's a great day for the players to be involved in and it's going to create great memories for them when they're older. They only appreciate stuff like that when they retire. 

“We don't know what's going to happen but someone is going to be a hero. Let's hope it's one of our boys.”

Wexford come into the game in fine form having lost just once since the end of July and they are now fifth in the First Division, five points clear of sixth-placed Finn Harps on 50 points.



It marks a significant improvement from the start of the campaign which was beset by a slew of fixture postponements.

“We had a strange start because our pitch was unplayable for the first two games. It was a big anti-climax for the players,” Keddy revealed. 

“It was a difficult start because your whole pre-season is planned around the first game of the season. It was a difficult start mentally for the lads. 

“And then with the difficult start, certain players were making individual mistakes. That's very hard to coach out of younger players and you have to be tolerant to that because you have to expect it. The one thing with the young players and you have to accept this, is that when you're coaching them, they're consistently inconsistent. 

“That's what you get with young players and they have to learn by making mistakes and you have to be able to accept that as a coach or a manager.”

Wexford have one of the youngest teams across the entire League of Ireland men’s set-up but their squad is packed with quality.

Aaron Dobbs, Ethan Boyle and Mikie Rowe make up some of their most experienced players but starlets such as Kaylem Harnett, Kian Corbally, Ben Lynch and Lewis Temple (on loan from Shelbourne) have caught the eye.

“Our aim at the start of the season was to get in the playoffs again,” Keddy added. 

“Cork obviously had a massive budget compared to what we have and it was very hard to compete with that… 

“But I think back where we came from when we started out, people now expect us to be in the playoffs, which you never had in Wexford before. I think last year was the first time they qualified for the playoffs.”

Sunday’s game will also be a reunion of sorts for Keddy, having played for Drogheda United under Paul Doolin during the mid-2000s.

And while he was at United Park (as it was then called), he helped the club to a Premier Division triumph in 2007, while also tasting success in the Setanta Sports Cup.

But now he must find a way to stop his former club reaching the FAI Cup final for the first time since 2013 with strikers Douglas James-Taylor and Frantz Pierrot impressing up front.

“I watched them against Bohemians and obviously have done a lot of video analysis on them with the players,” Keddy revealed. “The two boys up top are very strong and they’re a handful.

“You just have to think of the two wins they're after getting against Derry City and Bohs. I’m sure they will be very confident.”

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