Austin Gleeson
Two extremely well-coached teams should produce and absorbing tactical battle in Sunday’s All-Ireland SHC Quarter-Final between Waterford and Wexford.
The Deise will surely be coming into the match with a bounce in their step after defeating Kilkenny in Championship hurling for the first time in 58 years.
Wexford’s last match was a fairly heavy Leinster Final defeat to Galway, but they’ve had three weeks to lick their wounds so you’d imagine any mental scars they suffered that day are well-healed.
It’s likely to be a claustrophobic sort of a match because both teams like to get numbers behind the ball when they don’t have it and then counter-attack when they do.
Defenders will outnumber forwards at either end of the field, so the contest will be won by whichever team shows greater intensity in what’s likely to be a ferocious middle-third battle and then also has the coolness to use possession wisely rather than puck it away.
When these two teams met at the same juncture of the Championship last year, Waterford won by ten points.
It’s going to be a much tighter game this time around because Wexford have made such impressive strides in the interim, but Waterford are still regarded as favourites with good reason.
This is Derek McGrath’s fourth year in charge of the Deise whereas Davy Fitzgerald is still in year one of his Wexford project.
In a high-pressure encounter where players will have little or no time on the ball, Waterford’s greater affinity with their system of play is likely to be decisive.
Their bench also looks a little stronger than Wexford’s which could be another important factor if the match is as tight as most expect it to be.
Don't write off Wexford though. They'll relish their underdogs tag and have the wherewithal to produce another massive performance in a season of them.
