Evening Echo
by John Fenton
5th March 2003

National Hurling League
Cork V Wexford
Sun 9th March 2003

Sunday's second round of the National Hurling league sees Cork making the long journey to Wexford Park to take on the locals.

This will be an important game for both teams as both will wish to consolidate their position in the league table after their first round victories over Limerick and Derry.

Of those two games, Cork's victory over Limerick would be deemed the more meritorious as Wexford struggled to beat Derry by five points, albeit in Derry.

Wexford brought on seasoned campaigners in Liam Dunne and Mitch Jordan to help turn the game in their favour but they will be mentally better prepared for the joust with Cork.

With the new league structure in place, a win next Sunday will see the victors in a good position to claim a position in the top half of the league placings for round two of the competition.

While Donal O'Grady and his fellow selectors will be pleased with the victory over Limerick, they will know that alot of work and improvements lie ahead if Cork are to make a serious impression in the championship.

However, they will also know that no championships were ever won in March and the victory over Limerick was as good as a psychological boost as they could hope for at this time of the year. The team for next Sunday will probably start along similar lines as the game against Limerick, with the players prepared for a tough encounter against Wexford.

When the counties last met in the league in Wexford, it was a torrid affair and Cork will know that they will get no favours from Wexford next Sunday but having weathered the storm thrown at them by Limerick, they should be good enough to garner the spoils.