Wexford football scaled new heights in 2008 by winning the NFL Division 3 title and reaching the All-Ireland semi-final for the first time since 1945. One of the stars of a memorable campaign was corner forward Ciaran Lyng, who is convinced the best has yet to come from this Wexford side. When Pat McEnaney sounded his whistle for the last time in the second of this year's All-Ireland football semi-finals, it marked the end of a remarkable journey for a Wexford team that illuminated the championship with a series of outstanding and odds-defying displays. Underdogs for most of the season, and never more so than before their magnificent All-Ireland quarter-final victory over Armagh, the plucky Slaneysiders confounded the doubters time and again to go where not even their most ardent supporters had thought was possible. Their success has given tremendous hope to all the so-called weaker counties who are striving to break into the big league, and shows what can be achieved with the right attitude and application. "It's something as a group we're very proud of," Ciaran Lyng says of Wexford's achievements in 2008. "Our target at the start of the year was to finally reach a Leinster final after losing at the semi-final stage in each of the previous four years. But to end up playing in an All-Ireland semi-final surpassed all our expectations. It was a brilliant year and the aim for next year has to be to build on it and to prove that we're not a flash in the pan," the young corner forward adds. Wexford's progress this year was nothing short of astounding. They started the year by winning Division 3 of the National League, beating Fermanagh in a high-scoring final after extra-time. They then produced the comeback of the year to down Meath in the Leinster championship quarter-final before making light work of Laois to qualify for their first provincial final in 52 years. Sadly, the final against Dublin at a packed Croke Park turned out to be a nightmare for Wexford who crashed to a record 23-point defeat and lost their unbeaten record in 2008 in the process. Few expected them to recover from such a chastening experience, but they showed amazing powers of recovery to beat Down and Armagh before their fairytale run was finally ended by Tyrone in the All-Ireland semi-final. The Slaneysiders pulled off their finest result of the past half a century when they overcome Ulster champions Armagh by 1-14 to 0-12 in their first ever All-Ireland quarter-final appearance. It was all a far cry from a few short years ago when they were languishing in Division 4 of the National League and couldn't buy a win in the Leinster championship. Although steady progress had been made under Pat Roe and Paul Bealin in previous years, no one could have predicted the dramatic impact Jason Ryan would have in his first season as manager. The affable Waterford man transformed Wexford from also-rans in Leinster into one of top teams in the country. Not bad going for the 31-year-old rookie boss who would have been lining out for the Waterford footballers had the Wexford county board not come knocking late last year. "Jason won a county senior championship with Clongeen last year and he brought that winning mentality to the Wexford set-up. From day one, there was a great buzz in the camp. He was the driving force behind our success," says Lyng, whose brother Diarmuid plays half back on the Wexford hurling team. When it was put to the 23-year-old St. Martin's clubman that Ryan had been well down the Wexford county board's wish-list when they were looking for a successor to Paul Bealin, he cheekily replied: "Sure Liam Griffin wasn't their first choice for the hurling job in 1995 and look what he achieved!" Wexford showed they meant business by going through their National League Division 3 campaign unbeaten. They registered wins over Down, Louth, Longford, Leitrim and Sligo, and drew with Limerick and Fermanagh before defeating the latter by 3-15 to 0-20 after extra-time in the final at Parnell Park. The Division 3 title was the first major trophy to come Wexford's way in 63 years and was long overdue reward for the likes of team captain Colm Morris, Matty Forde and Paddy Colfer who have been on the panel for 10 years or more. In their National League game against Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds, Wexford came from eight points down with 25 minutes to earn a draw. But even that was surpassed on an unforgettable day in Carlow when they recovered from a 10-point deficit with 18 minutes remaining to beat Meath by 2-14 to 2-13 in one of the greatest comebacks the Leinster championship has ever seen. The Slaneysiders looked dead and buried when they trailed by 2-8 to 0-4 at half-time. That gap still separated the sides as the match entered its final quarter, but inspired by a Redmond Barry goal, Jason Ryan's charges steamrolled their Royal opponents from there to the finish, outscoring them by 2-6 to 0-1. Buoyed by that sensational victory, Wexford bridged a 52-year gap when they eased past Laois on a 0-18 to 0-12 scoreline to reach the Leinster final. In what was the first of five championship appearances at Croke Park, Wexford's superior teamwork was clear for all to see as they finally breached their semi-final barrier. The Leinster final witnessed a spectacular second half collapse by Wexford who had trailed Dublin by just three points at half-time, 0-7 to 0-10. Dublin could do no wrong in a breathtaking second half display which saw them run out emphatic 3-23 to 0-9 winners and crowned Leinster champions for the fourth year in succession. It was hard to see a way back for Jason Ryan's men but, against all the odds, they defeated Down by 2-13 to 0-12 with first half goals from Lyng and PJ Banville paving the way for their victory. "As you could imagine, we were very hurt after the Leinster final and we wanted to put that right. We had beaten Down in the league and we knew we could beat them again," remembers Lyng. Wexford were completely written off before their All-Ireland quarter-final against Armagh, but showing tremendous character once again, the underdogs produced a strong finish to pull off a famous victory. The Ulster champions had no answer to the brilliant Matty Forde who scored 1-3 when the game was in the melting pot in the final quarter. Tyrone ended Wexford's great adventure with a 0-23 to 1-14 All-Ireland semi-final victory. At half-time, Wexford trailed the vastly experienced Red Hands by eight points and faced into a second period which the injured Matty Forde would be watching from the sideline with a set of crutches. But within 16 minutes of the restart, Ciaran Lyng's goal had brought the underdogs to within two points. However, there was to be no repeat of Wexford's heroic comeback against Meath as the 2003 and 2005 All-Ireland champions reeled off the next four points to quell the rebellion and set up a final showdown with Kerry. For Lyng, who posted 1-6 against Tyrone, 2008 will live long in his memory. In just his second season as a Wexford senior, the predominantly left-footed attacker was one of the top five highest scorers in the championship with a tally of 2-22, one point more than his illustrious team-mate Matty Forde, who racked up 1-24. Now studying Arts in UCD, he had his heart set on a professional soccer career as a teenager and had spells with Preston North End and Shrewsbury Town over a three-year period before returning home in 2006. He has also represented Wexford in hurling, but has no regrets about concentrating on football. Equalling, not to mention surpassing this year's achievements, will be a stern test for the Yellowbellies in 2009, but their new scoring sensation insists they are here to stay. "The element of surprise may be gone, but we don't intend resting on our laurels. Wexford reached a Leinster under 21 final this year as well, so there is plenty of young talent around. I think this team can only get better and our main objectives for the coming year are to get promotion to Division 1 and win a Leinster title," he concludes. Tweet

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