Mistakes costly for U-17s
WEXFORD Youths slipped to their fourth straight defeat away to Salthill Devon in the SSE Airtricity League Under-17 Southern Elite Section on Saturday afternoon last.
It was a disaster of a day for the Ferrycarrig Park side who got delayed by festival traffic and then a tyre blow-out on their bus on their way west, meaning their scheduled 2pm kick-off actually started an hour and a half late.
Still, it didn’t seem to have a detrimental effect early on as Wexford began on the front foot.
There were just a few minutes gone when Kyle Kennedy centred for Danny Doyle to control and send a stunning bicycle kick to the Salthill net.
Unfortunately for Garrett Larkin’s side, their lead didn’t last long. Individual mistakes cost the visiting side all afternoon as their 1-0 advantage quickly turned into a 2-1 deficit.
Wexford beat Salthill 6-1 at home earlier in the season, and despite the Galway side winning two of their previous three coming into the tie, the hosts weren’t exactly overly impressive.
In fact, it was Wexford playing the football but getting caught out with silly mistakes. They put the disappointment of going 2-1 down behind them to take a halftime advantage.
Adham Masoud went on a mazy run before finishing to the Devon net and followed it with a stunning strike into the top corner as the winger-cum-attacker’s impressive form in recent weeks continued.
The lead was short lived in the second half as Salthill again tied the game with a soft goal. Youths pressed for a winner, playing some good football in the process but got caught with a late goal to go down 4-3.
Next up for 10th-placed Wexford is a home tie against Limerick, with a win enough to draw them level in the table with the Treaty side. That game was scheduled for Sunday at 2pm but owing to a clash with the Youths women’s tie with Galway it is subject to change.
Wexford Under-17 will end their league season with a trip to Cobh before facing UCD at home. They will then enter the league-ending shield competition. WEXFORD YOUTHS: Ciaran Sheil; Kallum Broaders, Cian Foley, Cian Larkin, Jack Bates; Craig O’Reilly, Mikie Carroll, Cian Doyle; Kyle Kennedy, Danny Doyle, Adham Masoud. Subs. - Ronan O’Kelly, Jack Brazill, Liam Berry, Sam O’Neill, also, Paddy Barron.