Kaylem Harnett the saviour as Wexford FC share spoils with Cork City

The hosts hadn’t conceded a goal at their home fortress all year until Kaylem Harnett delivered an equalising goal after a Darragh Levingston cross in the 43rd minute, 16 days shy of his 17th birthday on May 22.

It was the teenage sensation’s second senior goal after netting from a header in the 2-2 home draw with Longford Town last month, and it cancelled out a seventh-minute strike from the highly-rated Barry Coffey that had left the favourites in the driving seat.

The small Wexford following among the 2,669 attendance were in high spirits at half-time after that well-taken goal into the top right corner after a turn and strike inside the box.

And they were equally happy on the long road home after Wexford FC had defied the odds by holding their unbeaten professional rivals to only the fifth draw of their 14-match campaign to date.

A pull-back by another 16-year-old, Jaden Umeh, had created that opening goal of the game for Barry Coffey, but the visitors responded after Darragh Levingston applied some pressure down the left flank after a corner.

When his ball was delivered into the box, Harnett had the presence of mind to turn swiftly before striking high into Brad Wade’s net.

Wexford were determined to hang on to that point when play resumed after the interval, and it made for a pretty dour 45 minutes as Cork’s frustration at their inability to break the opposition down mounted with every passing minute.

Another talented teen, Cathal O’Sullivan, went close with one dipping effort, while Umeh couldn’t keep a couple of attempts down and Owen Mason did well to knock a teasing corner from Evan McLaughlin over the bar.

Wexford’s best effort at gaining the lead was fired high by Darragh Levingston in the 55th minute, and there was another bonus when Aaron Dobbs returned after his injury lay-off.

While the point was one of the best secured thus far in James Keddy’s reign, there was frustration afterwards when results elsewhere meant that Wexford still dropped from fourth on Friday night to sixth in the league table.

They will be on the road to face Treaty United in Limerick this Friday at 7.45 p.m., before hosting Kerry FC in Ferrycarrig Park one week later at the same time.

That will mark the start of another busy few days, because their last back fixture after early-season postponements – home to Cobh Ramblers – will go ahead on Monday, May 20.

Wexford FC: Owen Mason; Reece Webb, Carl Lennox, Cian O’Malley, Ben Lynch; Ethan Boyle, Kian Corbally; Darragh Levingston, Kaylem Harnett, Mark Hanratty; Thomas Oluwa. Subs. – Mikie Rowe for Harnett (60), Brandon McCann for Boyle (64), Aaron Dobbs for Oluwa (64), Seán McHale for O’Malley (72), also Alex Moody, Aaron Robinson, James Crawford, Cian Curtis, Oisín McDonagh.

Cork City: Brad Wade; Darragh Crowley, Cian Coleman, Charlie Lyons, Evan McLaughlin; Barry Coffey, Niall Brookwell; Cian Bargary, Cathal O’Sullivan, Nathan Wood; Jaden Umeh. Subs. – Josh Fitzpatrick for Bargary (58), Seán Murray for Wood (58), Harvey Skieters for Brookwell (86), also Aidan Dowling, Harry Nevin, Conor Drinan, Cian Murphy, Arran Healy, Oran Crowe.

Referee: Marc Lynch (Galway).

AIRTRICITY LEAGUE FIRST DIVISION

P W D L F A PTS

Cork City 14 9 5 0 21 4 32

UCD 14 7 3 4 19 13 24

Athlone Town 14 6 4 4 19 20 22

Bray Wderers 14 6 3 5 24 20 21

Finn Harps 14 6 3 5 13 12 21

Wexford FC 13 5 5 3 25 24 20

Cobh Rblers 13 4 4 5 19 23 16

Treaty Utd 13 3 3 7 10 14 12

Kerry FC 14 1 6 7 11 17 9

Longford Tn 13 1 4 8 14 28 7