The new structure of this championship gives us, in a sense, two semi finals to reach the Leinster final in Croke Park and definitely after Saturday evening we will have a real sense of where we lie in the chase for the silverware this season.

In Tullamore last weekend the Wexford team gave an ultra professional performance by putting a weaker Offaly team to the sword early in the game and all but secure our safe passage through to the All Ireland stages of the championship. The game was ideal preparation for this weekend, the players were not pushed too hard which should keep them fresh, we got plenty of shooting practice and the players got another championship win which boosts confidence. Our movement was good, our touch was good and the players look extremely fit. Job done.

Now it’s time for the real stuff.

The All Ireland champions Galway come to town on Saturday evening and I expect Wexford Park to be heaving with supporters, from both counties, in anticipation of a titanic struggle.

Need huge performance

Can we win? Of course we can and most importantly the players and management believe we can, but we will need a huge performances from our big players, who for me have done ok so far, but have yet to reach peak performance which would elevate the team to another level. The supporting players will also have to play at a level they have not gone to before and all 20 players who contribute on the day will need to bring energy, do their individual jobs to a tee. and play smart with and without the ball. Our scoring average from shots will also need to be much higher than it has been in the first two games, as we missed some relatively easy chances for this level of hurling.

Set up 

The fascinating thing for me on Saturday will be to see how Davy sets up the team and most importantly how he goes about negating the Galway forwards who, bar Joe Canning, really had the upper hand on us during last years Leinster Final. To be honest the Galway front 8 make me nervous, they are all fast, athletic, big and strong, and are all capable of taking scores. And even if we break even with these players they have 2/3 game changers on the sideline who are ready to come in to make an impact when they are called on. Achieving at least parity with this lethal forward division will be a big ask. If it comes down to one to one, man on man battles between our backs and their forwards I expect that Galway will win out in the majority of cases. However I suspect that Davy will set us up with this in mind with the aim of not letting our backs be individually isolated. The key to success for us is to work as a unit and back each other up at every opportunity. When a Galway forward gains possession we must attempt to smother him up immediately by funneling back from our half back line and getting support from behind from our two midfielders and two wing forwards especially. We must also take advantage of the fact that the confines of Wexford Park are much tighter than Croke Park and turn the area inside our own 65 into a battle zone where there are no free strikes and their forwards are hooked and hassled like never before.

Attack

If we are to win, the defence will be key but we will also need to attack and score a lot. The key to attack for us is to move everything at speed and to attempt to unsettle the Galway backline by moving them around, bringing them to areas where they are uncomfortable and giving precise passes which can open them up. We won’t beat Galway in my opinion in a physical battle and even though they can move aswell, our best chance of success will be through fast movement of the ball, fast support runs and fast thinking. We are capable of doing this and have the players that this type of game suits.

I expect Wexford to be very deliberate with possession of the ball again on Saturday. Supporters during games at times get very nervous and frustrated with our strategy of short puckouts to the full back line and our constant running of the ball from areas back down the field slowing down delivery to the forwards but this is how the team have been programmed to play and I don’t envisage any change on Saturday. One of Galway’s main strengths is there size so I think Davy will be encouraging our lads to avoid aerial battles and 50/50 balls and focus on keeping the ball when we have it.

Rotation

The Offaly game last week gives an indication of how Davy plans to go about attacking Galway. The Wexford forwards and midfielders last weekend seemed to rotate a lot and I think this was a dress rehearsal for Saturday’s game. Take for example, the full forward position, in the space of the first 45 minutes of the game one of Rory O Connor, Conor McDonald and Lee Chin were all positioned in the number 14 position at different points. Is this our plan to stretch their backs by constantly giving them different types of players to mark throughout the hour and forcing them to make a decision on whether to stay in their position or follow their man with the hope of causing confusion and creating scoring opportunities ? I think it could be and I agree with it if it is, so don’t be surprised on Saturday to see players in different positions and for there to be what seems to be an unstructured element to our forwards.

Prediction

Will we win? . If I was a betting man, which I am not, I would back the Tribesmen. In a two horse race anything can happen of course and Saturday could turn out to be one of those magical Wexford Park nights where the Wexford team get going at the right time and the wave of enthusiasm gets us over the line, but in the cold light of day and when you put both sets of panels up against each other it’s very hard to see us winning, I really do hope I’m wrong but Galway are a little more advanced than us and it’s in their forward division especially where I expect them to make hay. However I do expect a very well conditioned and trained Wexford team to come close, be ultra competitive and push the All Ireland champions to the pin of their collar and keep the show on the road heading to Nowlan Park next week.

Bring it on !!