Last gasp penalty keeps Carlow in hunt for top spot in Tailteann Cup groups

On any given day managers will be reluctant to pick out heroes but Ross Dunphy had one of those unforgettable days. He scored a crucial goal to get Carlow back within touching distances of their opponents and then went on to draw the penalty which yielded the equalising score against Wexford in Round 2 of the Tailteann Cup last Sunday afternoon. 

“Very hard to put thoughts together after that. Delighted to get something out of it. I thought it was never going to go in for us. We had three or four really good goal chances. One came off the crossbar. Another off the posts,” he said.

“We just kept going. John Phiri came up with a great score which brought us back to leave only three in it,” Dunphy noted, while he went on to commend Conor Doyle who showed “composure” when converting the penalty.

He said Carlow fought to the end as individual players made contributions for the common good.

“They were out on their feet. We threw everything at them. Paddy McDonnell had a great run and put in a great ball.

“There is resilience built up. Last week gave us a massive lift. We went over there (Fermanagh) confident we could get the win. We just wanted to back it up today. I thought we did that for the most part. There is a lot more in us,” Dunphy suggested.

“In fairness, the last few times they gave us some good beatings. There was a bit of that as well. We just wanted to perform. To come away with a result today was big. Thrilled to come away with something. It was looking sketchy towards the end but I thought we deserved to come away with at least a point.” 

As players trooped back into the dressing room, Carlow manager, Joe Murphy, was on hand to shake the hand of every single member in the Carlow squad. He has created a bond and the manager referred to the response of the players.

“It is not the result we wanted. Initially, we came to win the game. As things panned out we were probably very unlucky in a few crucial incidents during the game,” he said.

“The testament, and I saw it the first day, when we were up in Navan (first round of the Leinster championship versus Meath). They didn’t throw in the towel. They didn’t quit. There is great character in the team. That is a good foundation. Once you have character you can strive to achieve things.

That was a real testament. Baking hot conditions. We should be very proud of them.” The manager gave due praise but now he wants more.

“It is far from the perfect performance. I think we under performed today. I think there is a lot more in them. We coughed up our own clear possession too many times. Wexford were coming and it was a physical enough game. I said the conditions were excruciating for the lads to play seventy minutes. It is our job to fix those little inaccuracies around the field. That is what we will go back to work on. We will continue to work and try to be more efficient in everything that we do.” And had the manager given up hope when the players had not? He did admit he was worried.

“You have to say the clock was ticking. When we went six points down,. I knew we would get chances. They never dropped their heads. When you have a group of lads who will go to the end, you cannot ask for much more?"

The result means Carlow will play in the knockout stages of the Tailteann Cup but they still have a real chance of topping the group going into the final round of games, which would see them straight into the quarter-final. As it stands, Carlow are level on points with Wexford at the top of the group but with a six point inferior scoring difference. Carlow play Longford in the final round on Sunday 1 June in Tullamore at 1.45pm while at the same time Wexford meet Fermanagh in Croke Park.