KEVIN RYAN WAS “amazed” by Antrim’s sensational victory in yesterday’s Bord Gáis Energy All-Ireland U21 hurling championship semi-final against Wexford.
The Saffrons stunned the Leinster champions by 2-15 to 1-16 in the first of a double-header at Semple Stadium.
It was a quite remarkable victory for Antrim who brought just 19 players plus goalkeeper Ger Dixon to Thurles, despite naming 23 players on the matchday programme.
Waterford man Ryan, who took over in Antrim’s hour of need shortly before the Ulster semi-final victory over Down last month, revealed that just 14 players were present at training last Thursday evening.
But Ryan and his fellow selectors Neil McManus (Antrim’s senior team captain) and Barry McFall somehow plotted the demise of JJ Doyle’s disappointing Wexford outfit.
The Slaneysiders led for the one and only time in the game when Ian Byrne lofted over the game’s opening score from a free.
But following Stephen McAfee’s fortuitous third-minute goal, Antrim led from there all the way to the finish.
Ryan gushed: “What really excited me in the first half was after when we got the goals whenever they hit back with a point we answered with a point.
“Because we were keeping that gap in it we all started to get a bit more confident. At half-time we knew we had to start all over again and not think about All-Irelands or great victories or anything like that.“I’m amazed because some of them are so young and aren’t used to this whatsoever yet they kept their composure in the second-half.
“We drew Wexford on to us a bit but that was our plan because we wanted to crowd the scoring area.”
Shellshocked JJ Doyle struggled to explain Wexford’s alarming collapse.
His players were nailed-on favourites with the bookies but Wexford never raised a gallop and this was a disappointing end to the season after Kilkenny were defeated in the Leinster final.
Doyle insisted that there were no signs of the shock that lay in store for Wexford before throw-in.
He insisted: “The mood was very good, training, everything had gone well. It seemed like they were up for it. But we had said that if we didn’t perform 100 per cent and weren’t up to their level, we wouldn’t get a result and we weren’t up to their level of hunger and tenacity and wanting every single ball. It seemed like we were waiting for it to happen instead of making it happen.”
