Eye-opening defeat
Westmeath best in high-scoring tie
WEXFORD ENDURED an eye-opening start to the Leinster Minor ladies’ football championship after a 5-18 to 3-12 reversal to Westmeath in Sunday’s opener played at a windswept Coolgreany.
With 54 scores shared between the sides in the 60-odd minutes of action, it’s clear to see that attacking football was the order of the day, and the midlanders were the better exponents of that particular facet of the game, while also managing to defend slightly better than the hosts.
It’s hard to glean any positives from a twelve-point defeat, but the mentors will probably cling to the fact that all six of Wexford’s starting forwards got their names on the scoresheet as a blueprint going forward.
It was the frequency that they were cut open straight through the middle that will be a more immediate concern though, as will the amount of possession they ceded direct from their own re-starts.
Westmeath struck for a goal after only 28 seconds when the elusive Sarah Dillon strode through to crash to the roof of the net, and they never trailed thereafter, often stringing together intricate moves to keep the scoreboard ticking over.
Maeve Sinnott linked up with Jane Rossiter for an excellent Wexford nerve-settler on three minutes, Ciara Banville picked off a second point after she had initially hit a post, while Michelle Carty made it 1-1 to 0-3 as the home side enjoyed their first bright spell in the scoring zone.
The gap hovered around two points as Rossiter weaved towards goal before fisting over on 15 minutes, while a free from the same player seemed scant reward for Wexford as Ailis Neville had seen a shot at goal well stopped in the build-up (1-4 to 0-6).
Rather crucially though, Westmeath pounced for four of the last five points, many of them wind-assisted, before half-time to open up a 1-10 to 0-7 lead at the interval, with the potent Grace Halligan providing three.
Sinnott pointed from an acute angle 18 seconds into the new half, and when Neville added another after a one-two with Rossiter, Wexford were back within two scores again.
But things unravelled for a spell as Halligan and Ciara Faulkner shared 2-4 between them, with Halligan thudding home a 34th-minute penalty, and also goaling from close range.
Wexford should be encouraged by their spirited finish to the game, as they pounced for three goals in the final six minutes to tee up an unlikely comeback.
Neville scored the goal of the game on 54 minutes, and also crashed home after a quick free from Rossiter, while in between Niamh McHugh found the net as well as the gap shrunk to 3-16 to 3-11.
However, Westmeath hit back almost immediately as Halligan completed her hat-trick to bring her haul to 3-8, while substitutes Ciara McManus and Jasmine Maloney added 1-2 before the end for the Lake county girls.
Wexford: Marie Sutton (St. Brigid’s, Blackwater); Geri-Rose O’Connor (Baile Dubh Tíre), Grace Cloney (Adamstown), Lisa Kelly (HWH-Bunclody); Eimear O’Hagan (Castletown), Mairéad Crean (Davidstown-Courtnacuddy), Ciara Banville (Shelmalier); Juliet Rochford (St. Anne’s), Ciara Banville (Taghmon-Camross, 0-1); Sophie Boxwell (Kilmore, 0-1), Michelle Carty (Taghmon-Camross, 0-1), Ciara Bridges (St. Martin’s, 0-1); Ailis Neville (Shelmalier, 2-1), Jane Rossiter (Bannow-Ballymitty, capt., 0-4, 3 frees), Maeve Sinnott (HWH-Bunclody (0-3). Subs. - Susan Boyle (Castletown) for Kelly (24), Niamh McHugh (Baile Dubh Tíre, 1-0) for Crean (HT).
Westmeath: Sinéad Byrne; Aoife Kenny, Emma Kelly, Clodagh Dillon (capt., 0-1); Abbie Sheerin, Vicky Carr, Ruth Martin; Sinéad Murtagh, Susan Glennon; Jessica Hennessy (0-1), Sarah Dillon (1-3), Emma Ballesty; Róisín Killian, Grace Halligan (3-8, 1-0 pen., 0-3 frees), Ciara Faulkner (0-3). Subs. - Jasmine Maloney (0-1) for Ballesty (22), Susanna Buckley for S. Dillon, inj. (26), Amy Maxwell for Martin (50), Ciara McManus (1-1) for Faulkner (52).
Referee: Leah Mullins (Carlow).