Wexford boss unhappy with Nowlan Park pitch after defeat to Kilkenny
Hands Wexford Rossiter, Ray Shake Photo Keith After Shc Manager Left, Lyng, By The Manager Leinster And Kilkenny Clash Derek Mcmanus/sportsfile
Immediately after losing what was effectively a Leinster semi-final by a point, in a game decided by a dubious penalty call, you'd have expected Keith Rossiter to vent his fury.
The Wexford manager held his counsel though, kicking to touch when asked about TJ Reid's killer 52nd minute goal for Kilkenny.
Referee Liam Gordon correctly called a free for a foul on Eoin Cody, by a mixture of Liam Ryan and Damien Reck, but the offence occurred outside the square. That would have been okay had Gordon adjudged it a goalscoring opportunity but no black card accrued so confusion reigned.
Reid, typically, took full advantage, drilling to the net and finishing with 1-13 to help propel the Cats through to another Leinster final, against Dublin.
Rossiter, meanwhile, did cut loose but on an entirely different subject. He was aghast that the recent Bruce Springsteen gig at Nowlan Park had left the pitch in such bad condition with a large area in front of the dressing-rooms badly cut up.
"I'd need to look back on it," said Rossiter, answering a question about the penalty decision.
"At least it was on the right side of the field because if it was the other side of the field, you wouldn't have seen any sign of a white line with the amount of damage done with the concert. How that can happen I don't know, to be honest, before a big Championship match. I'd need to look back on it (the penalty call), I thought it was easy given."
Returning again later to the state of the pitch, Rossiter had more criticism.
"I saw a picture of it at about 11 o'clock this morning, I couldn't believe it," he said. "But it is what it is. We would have gladly played in Wexford Park, which is a good sod at the minute, but I don't think Kilkenny were going to change that fixture. But Bruce had to be played, I suppose. They had to dance in the dark up here for a couple of days but the pitch was the one to suffer."
Rossiter's ability to crack a joke suggested that it's far from doom and gloom in the Wexford camp. They're still through to the All-Ireland series as third place finishers, thanks to Dublin's defeat of Galway, and will play Laois or Offaly in an All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final.
After losing to Antrim in Round 2, Rossiter would have taken that outcome.
"I'd have taken the arm off you," he nodded.
Kilkenny have more provincial business to attend to before they enter the All-Ireland series. Chasing a Leinster five-in-a-row, they are still unbeaten but have also flirted with disaster for four games running now.
Reid's goal helped open up a six point Kilkenny lead but Wexford got it back to a one-point game late on, thanks in part to Cian Byrne's 65th minute goal, before time ran out.
"We know we need to keep improving," acknowledged Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng. "At times, for spells of some of the games, we've been really good and then there's been other times when we're not so good.
"So we have to get a little bit more consistency in our 70 minutes. But I thought overall today, we were playing a top class team and we were never going to stroll away from them or anything.
"I knew it was going to come down to a score or two in the end and that's the way it's been for the last few years. So still a bit to do but for now I'm very satisfied."
Lyng said he didn't have a good view for the penalty.
"I'd have to watch it back, I was down the opposite end," he said. "I thought we were probably unlucky not to get one in the first 10 minutes as well."
That was for a foul on Martin Keoghan though Matthew O'Hanlon was at least booked and Reid converted the free.
Reid's fourth converted free left Kilkenny 0-6 to 0-5 up after the first quarter but Wexford opened up with a purple patch after that.
Conor McDonald's 21st minute goal was a big blow for Kilkenny as it stemmed from a poor Cody clearance that went straight to Damien Reck who picked out his full-forward.
Three more points from Lee Chin left Wexford five clear with 28 minutes on the clock, 1-11 to 0-9, but they needed to turn the screw further and couldn't.
In fact, Kilkenny outscored Wexford by 1-11 to 0-3 between the 31st and 55th minutes, cutting the gap to two at half-time before opening up that six-point lead which provided a vital cushion late on.
"We let go of our lead too easily," reflected Rossiter.
There was no Adrian Mullen for Kilkenny and the Ballyhale man hasn't featured since a thigh injury suffered against Antrim in Round 1.
He could figure in the Leinster final, particularly as wing-forward Tom Phelan has struggled in the last two games. There's a possible opening at midfield too as skipper Paddy Deegan deputised there, allowing Richie Reid to drop into the half-back line.
"Adrian has two weeks now which will definitely stand to him," said Lyng of Mullen.
TJ Reid (1-13, 0-12 frees, 1-0 penalty, 1 sideline); P Deegan, B Ryan (0-3 each); J Donnelly, R Reid, M Keoghan, M Carey, E Cody (0-1 each).
L Chin (0-7, 6 frees); C Byrne (1-3); C McDonald (1-2); R O'Connor, C Dunbar (0-2 each); L Og McGovern, K Foley, J O'Connor, C Hearne (0-1 each).
E Murphy; T Walsh, H Lawlor, M Butler; D Blanchfield, R Reid, M Carey; P Deegan, C Kenny; J Donnelly, TJ Reid, T Phelan; E Cody, B Ryan, M Keoghan.
Subs: C Fogarty for Phelan (h/t); W Walsh for Keoghan (62); O Wall for Ryan (72); H Shine for Kenny (73).
M Fanning; M O'Hanlon, L Ryan, S Reck; C Foley, D Reck, E Ryan; C Hearne, R Lawlor; R O'Connor, L Og McGovern, C Dunbar; C Byrne, L Chin, C McDonald.
Subs: S Donohoe for O'Hanlon (45-47 blood); K Foley for Lawlor (52); J O'Connor for Dunbar (56); C McGuckin for McGovern (60).
L Gordon (Galway).