Sublime Keogh strike beats brave Wexford
Wexford Youths 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2
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THE SUPERIOR class of Wolves eventually told against their brave hosts, but in truth the result mattered little as Wexford welcomed home local hero Kevin Doyle.
Although Doyle was only introduced for the final 22 minutes of the game, it was enough to warm up the large crowd on a chilly Monday night at Ferrycarrig Park.
However, it was fellow Irish international Andy Keogh who stole the limelight, scoring a sublime winning goal with 12 minutes remaining, neatly lifting the ball over goalkeeper Packie Holden to finally break Wexford's gallant resistance.
Mick McCarthy understandably fielded a second string side with one eye on next weekend's daunting trip to the Emirates to face Arsenal, but there was still plenty of quality on show, with Keogh, Serbian star Nenad Milijas and Michael Mancienne in particular catching the eye.
The first-half was a pretty forgettable affair with little in the way of chances, and in fact it was Wexford Youths who had the clearest sight of goal when right-back Anto Russell shot straight at Hahnemann after a neat onetwo with the impressive Gary Sheahan.
Wolves came out with a bit more urgency after the break and were in front within five minutes of the re-start, with giant Austrian striker Stefan Maierhofer sweeping the ball to the net after getting on the end of an inviting Milijas cross.
The biggest cheer of the night came in the 68th minute when Doyle was introduced to the fray, but his arrival obviously spurred on the Youths as they were back on level terms within two minutes.
In-form striker Gary Sheahan cut in from the right and expertly placed his angled shot inside Hahnemann's right-hand post.
Ten minutes later Wolves were back in front thanks to Keogh's cool finish, and at the other end Conor Sinnott was unlucky to see his long-range left-footed curler come back off the crossbar.
Wexford Youths manager and owner, Mick Wallace, was delighted with the boost for his League of Ireland club.
'It was great to get a big crowd. It's just a pity they don't come more often,' he laughed.
'Maybe some of the people that came tonight will realise that we can actually play a bit and come back again,' he said.
Wallace had plenty of praise for his former star pupil, Kevin Doyle.
'He's a great lad. His attitude is fantastic, he's wanted it all along and he's made it happen. It's not easy to get where he is and fair play to him for achieving it,' he said.
Doyle said he was glad to be able to give something back to the game as he returned to his roots to the county where he learnt his trade.
'It's good to be back and everything went really well.
'I'm just five minutes from home so it's nice for family and friends to see me play here. It is good to be able to help Mick (Wallace) out. It's tough times at the moment in the League of Ireland so every penny they can get counts,' he said.
