Wexford’s Blue Contingent

by John Kehoe

(first published in the May 2009 Wexford Youths programme)

Already in Wexford’s short lifespan there have been a number of former wearers of the Blue shirt, not unexpected given the geographical locations of the teams. Players such as Darren Browne, Eric Bradley, and Thomas Hawkins are no longer at Ferrycarrig Park either, but there are four current Youths who have lined out at the RSC in recent times. Here’s a quick look at how their season is going on Slaneyside.

Packie Holden: Packie signed for the Youths at the start of this season, and instantly became a hit with the fans, who could appreciate his experience and organisational skills, and how they might benefit a young team. He has been an ever-present between the sticks for the Youths in the league, and starred in the penalty shootout win over Cork in the EA Sports Cup, with Pa Doyle ably deputising for the other two games of that incident-packed run.

David Breen: Breener was another from last season’s United side who somewhat surprisingly fetched up at Ferrycarrig Park earlier this season, and, like Holden, all at the club could instantly see how his vast experience and ability would be a huge addition to the Slaneysiders. After missing the reverse fixture in March through a carry-over suspension, this is David’s first game against his old club, but he has lined out for his new side 13 times in league and Cup, and has continued his knack of scoring vital goals from the back, with three to his name already.

Tim McGrath: Tim first signed for Tommy Lynch at the start of the 1998/99 season after returning home from Glasgow Celtic, and though Tommy was soon a managerial casualty, he remained to play a key part in the great run of clean sheets that kept United up at the end of that campaign. He was to suffer relegation at the hands of Kilkenny City the following year, and as new squad was assembled for Division One he dropped off the radar of most Blues fans, playing for local side Town Celtic until this year, when he became the third ex-Blue to join Mick Wallace’s squad in pre-season 2009. However, after starting three games in March, Tim suffered a recurrence of a knee injury and has failed to feature since.

Gavin Doyle: Gavin was a Blues regular in Mike Kerley’s team of 2006, but struggled to make an impact in a struggling side, and never really did himself justice in his time here. He started to come to prominence last season with the Youths, but this season has been in outstanding form, with an excellent strike rate so far of 8 goals from 14 appearances (6 from 11 in the league), including a league brace against Finn Harps, and goals against Limerick and Bohemians in the EA Sports Cup.