Glory Game
GAA heroes provide extra inspiration for Wallace 'no-hopers'
Wexford Youths manager Mick Wallace, left, and captain Anthony Russell get their hands on the FAI Ford Cup yesterday
Wednesday August 13 2008
IN the context of sporting upsets, the Wexford Gaelic footballers' incredible victory over Armagh last Saturday will go some way towards inspiring the 'Davids' of Irish sport when they are faced with the proverbial Goliaths.
That will certainly be case in the Model county itself when their soccer players take on just that sort of task.
They host Eircom League giants St Patrick's Athletic in the FAI Ford Cup fourth round this Sunday in a tie which brings to mind so many comparisons with last Saturday's GAA upset.
When the Armagh heavyweights stormed to their first Sam Maguire triumph back in 2002, their conquerors last weekend in Croke Park were little short of a footballing non-entity.
And, while St Pat's have amassed numerous trophies in a 79-year history, Wexford Youths' trophy cabinet at senior level is bare.
The brainchild of property developer Mick Wallace, Wexford have been competing in the Eircom League for less than two years and the showdown with the Saints represents the biggest match in their short history.
Youths captain Anthony Russell, himself a former Wexford Gaelic footballer for the U-21 and minor teams, believes the anticipation is infectious.
"It does filter across to ourselves because most of the lads on that team, we've either played against them or with them in soccer and football so you'd know them and you'd be in contact with them," he said.
Indeed, no less than eight of the panel which strode their way to a first All-Ireland semi-final since 1945 played under Wallace at under-age level.
So many parallels exist between the two teams and the 26 year-old centre-half is of the belief that they can take a leaf from Jason Ryan's charges and cause a major upset.
"It would have been very easy for the Wexford team to believe what they read in the papers and that Armagh were going to walk the game," he said.
Tired
"But Jason Ryan came up with a team game (plan) that just avoided any physical battles -- keep it wide and play nice and fast football and it tired out Armagh in the end.
"We'll have to be thinking positive about this Sunday, we're thinking 'it's St Pat's, one of the top teams in the country at the moment and we're bottom of the First Division'.
"It's so easy to think that we're going to get beaten two or three nil, but we're going to believe that we can go out and get a result, we're not there to make up the numbers."
If they were to look at the numbers, not many positives would be extracted -- the sides are separated by 20 League places and 28 points, with the Youths sitting bottom of the First Division.
But if Wallace's side ever needed inspiration in how to beat the big guy, they need look no further than within their own county for a Model example.
- Neil Ahern
