Wexford just about kept their 100% unbeaten start in the Keith Rossiter era thanks to dramatic added-time scores from talisman Lee Chin and Seamus Casey to rescue a 0-20 to 1-17 draw in their Allianz Hurling League encounter on Saturday.
The Yellowbellies were made to fight extra hard for their second draw in six days as both Jack O’Connor and Charlie McGuickan received straight red cards from referee Sean Stack, which will mean they will miss the Clare game on February 25th.
The sending off of O'Connor has proven quite contentious. O'Connor - who was only on the pitch two minutes - got involved in a tussle with Offaly midfielder David King in the second half while competing for a ball. While O'Connor's hand did touch the Offaly man's helmet, replays show that O'Connor's faceguard was clearly grabbed. Only the Wexford man walked.
Worst decision you’ll ever see on a hurling pitch. Jack O Connor just got a STRAIGHT RED for Wexford for this 🤯🤯🤯 Yes he’s wearing the purple jersey here number 10 got sent off WTF 😳 pic.twitter.com/jHbLb1wDB8
— Graham Byrne (@FitnessCoachG) February 10, 2024
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Wexford manager Keith Rossiter calls for a TMO in hurling
Interestingly, in a post-match interview with TG4, Rossister viewed the incident and gave a commendable verdict on what happened.
“Jack brought a bit of a buzz to it from the crowd the minute or two he was on, but I was very disappointed with it.
“The opinion before I saw it was I thought the two of them were at it.
“No, if you were going to grab the face guard, you would have to see red, so both should have walked off from looking back on it now. The two should have gone together. I wouldn’t blame Sean Stack for sending Jack off, but the clip also shows that Jack was grabbed.
“I think Jack was blinded at that stage, in my opinion, but everyone, including Sean Stack, will have an idea on it, and you have to give them the benefit of the doubt, but I don’t know how that can diss a Wexford man.”
Scór Lán-Ama #WEXvOFF@OfficialWexGaa 0-20@Offaly_GAA 1-17
'I thought the two of them should have went together...wouldn't be happy with that decision'
Smaointí Keith Rossiter faoin gcárta dearg Jack O'Connor.
BEO/LIVE AR @TG4TV 📺#AllianzLeagues #GAABeo pic.twitter.com/VlWqszxjbK— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) February 10, 2024
When asked by Micheál Ó Domhnaill if technology like a TMO should be introduced to GAA, Rossiter believed that technology should be implied if it can help clear up situations like what happened in Wexford Park today but was also full of credit for his spirited Wexford side.
“Yeah, something has to happen that determines the end of the game. We got another man sent off five to ten minutes later; we were probably doing too much fouling. That would have been fourteen apiece if Jack had gone with his man. It’s a different outlook and a different game,” Rossiter said.
“Great heart, great fight. They kept doing what they had to do by sticking to the process and using the ball. I'm delighted with that. We will go back and look at the game, as I'm not happy with the first half. We allowed Offaly too much.
“They were beating us in the rucks to the breaking balls, which we wouldn’t be pleased about, but I keep telling the lads it's only the second round of the national hurling League. It's only February. We have a good bit to work on, but the fight and character are there, and we will take that.”
Rossiter was happy to have rescued a point but was far from impressed with how his side performed in the opening half.
“Yeah, I am. I thought we had an opportunity to go and win it, but to be honest, yeah, we didn’t hurl in the first half. If you're only going to hurl for 35 minutes, you’re going to find it hard to win any game,” the Wexford manager said.
“Offaly put us to the sword in the first half, and they had between 16 to 17 wides to concede that many shots were not good enough so that we will take the point.”
