Damien Fitzhenry has been getting all the plaudits for Wexford’s victory in the Leinster hurling final. However, any self-respecting intercounty goalkeeper would have made all those saves. In truth, they were misses rather than saves, a reflection of the technical inadequacies of the Offaly forwards.

The hardest shots for goalkeepers to save in hurling either come in along the ground or come in high and preferably towards the corner. Damien Murray’s first miss was a poorly struck effort which came in waist high: Fitzhenry’s save looked more spectacular than it actually was. Cassidy’s miss from the subsequent 65 only compounded the error. Of five scorable frees missed by Offaly, the normally reliable Cassidy was responsible for three. Wexford only missed two frees – another area where the Model County was let off the hook.

Offaly’s second goal miss was the worst of all. One-to-one on Fitzhenry, Brendan Murphy elected to kick the ball for some inexplicable reason, when a flick with a shortened grip would surely have done the trick. An Moltóir cannot fathom why so many so-called top hurlers elect to kick in situations like this. Think of Dan Shanahan’s terrible miss against Galway in the League final.

Offaly’s third miss came from Michael Cordial, whose downward shot was easy enough to save; he should have gone for the roof of the net. Murray’s penalty was poorly taken and hit with no conviction: chest high and straight in the middle, it was a doddle for the men on the line. Carley’s goal was a textbook example of what should be done in situations like this: well-directed, low and hard. Wexford’s other goal was fortuitous but at least Jacob was in the right place at the right time. If Brian Corcoran had followed in on a high ball which Stephen Brenner dropped from his hand, we could have had a different result in Thurles the previous Sunday.

The play count confirms the general view that Offaly dominated the first half and Wexford the second. In the first half Offaly played the ball 87 times to Wexford’s 77; in the second half the balance was reversed 100-84. A feature of the game was the amount of first-time hurling, both in the air and on the ground. When Cork played Limerick a few weeks ago, An Moltóir only counted 18 such strokes in total. In Croke Park on Sunday the total amounted to an amazing 93, with Wexford leading the way with 50.

While first-time hurling has always been part of the Offaly pattern of play, this is an amazing turnaround for Wexford where the traditional belief was that the ball had to be taken in hand at all costs before being struck. The Wexford halfbacks are now making an art form of the high ball which is not just blocked down but driven back to whence it came. However, most of the first-time pulls on both sides were simple twenty-yarders – inconspicuous but frequently very effective.

This applies in particular to John O’Connor, who hit the ball more often than anybody else on the pitch in the first half, and far more than Skippy Ruth and Rory McCarthy. McCarthy, in fact, only played the ball six times in the whole game, yet was singled out for special mention by Ger Loughnane on RTÉ, whereas O’Connor played the ball sixteen times. This shows how first impressions can frequently be misleading. However, there was nothing misleading about Ruth’s profound impact on the game after the change of ends when he played the ball thirteen times, many of them crucial and spectacular interventions. However, in the activity stakes even Ruth was surpassed by Colm Cassidy, who played the ball fourteen times in the second half and an extraordinary 24 times in all – probably the highest total for a single player since An Moltóir began this kind of analysis several years ago.

It is a reflection of both the high number of ground strokes and of how hard-working both teams were that 18 players in all were in double figures with their number of plays – ten of them from Wexford. This included, amazingly, their goalkeeper, who played the ball eleven times apart from frees and puckouts. Brian Mullins wasn’t far behind with nine. An Moltóir has never come across a game before where both goalkeepers were so busy – in part a reflection of the number of saves Fitzhenry made, but also of a lot of rather aimless balls played into both goal areas.

Apart from Fitzhenry’s saves and Cassidy’s missed frees, perhaps the two events which had the biggest bearing on the outcome of this match were the injury to Brian Whelahan and the introduction of Paul Codd. While Whelahan’s direct opponent, Eoin Quigley, put in a big performance, Sid was still doing an enormous amount of work covering in defence and sending excellent balls into the forwards. It was a surprise that Offaly brought Rory Hannify to centre back after Whelahan went off. Offaly at this stage were chasing the game, and Hannify has shown an ability in the past to score priceless goals at times like this.

Apart from his two points, Codd had an enormous impact on the game when he came on, playing the ball a total of eight times in just 27 minutes. By contrast, Neville Coughlan, brought on by Offaly at the same time, never hit the ball at all. Indeed, the Wexford bench in general had a much more substantial look to it in terms of experience. With their limited playing resources, this is a problem which will always trouble Offaly.

At the same time, the outlook for the Faithful County is definitely brighter than it might have looked a short time ago. Their defence generally was quite solid, with Ger Oakley continuing to confound those who routinely expect him to be cleaned out, Barry Teehan doing well in one corner, and David Frank in the other confirming the good impression he made last year. Michael Cordial showed here that he is not just the flash in the pan that he seemed last year. He was very hard working (18 plays), has a lovely style, and with experience could be a very impressive performer indeed.

It was not a good day for forwards on either side, due partly to good defenders but also to the wet conditions. Gary Hannify got a lot of ball (17 plays) but little enough came from it. His brother Rory and Brian Carroll made little impact. Joe Brady did a reasonable job in preventing Darragh Ryan from gaining clean possession and in flicking balls to colleagues, and Damien Murray looked a better player here than An Moltóir expected from previous viewings. The Offaly forwards are still very young, and if Stephen Browne and Dylan Hayden can fulfill early promise, they could in time become a force to be reckoned with.

For Wexford, all the established players (except Mitch Jordan) delivered again, with Adrian Fenlon playing his best game in years and Tomás Mahon possibly his best ever in a Wexford shirt. Doc O’Connor also had a mighty second half. However, what was most impressive about Wexford was that the novices introduced against Kilkenny looked even better on Sunday. Malachy Travers, John O’Connor, Eoin Quigley and Paul Carley all played superbly. Many observers have been marvelling at Waterford’s ability to bring good players through, given their lack of underage success. Clearly there is a similar reservoir down by the Slaney.