Wexford finish sixth in league after another loss to Senior side
ARMAGH WEXFORD 2-13 1-8
WEXFORD HAVE finished in sixth spot in Division 2 of the Lidl Ladies’ National Football League after falling in their final encounter against Armagh in Silverbridge on Sunday.
While the last three results were not what Anthony Masterson and his side wanted, the Division 3 holders can take plenty of positives from their campaign against better quality opponents.
This was the third test in a row against Senior opposition, with Wexford playing without Bernie Breen, Chloe Foxe and Kellie Kearney for all or the majority of ithe action.
They were actually keeping pace before the injury jinx started to bite.
Foxe kicked a cracking long-range point, while Tara Doyle scored a classy effort from play and added two frees as Wexford went toe-to-toe with Armagh.
However, as the half wore on the visitors were forced into a re-shuffle and the girls in orange and white went on a run of points.
In the end the hosts went in 0-9 to 0-4 to the good and things turned even more sour quickly after the interval.
Armagh netted twice in the first few minutes to all-but put the contest to bed, but it didn’t mean Wexford were going to quit.
Niamh Butler kicked a nice score from the right wing, Fiona Rochford popped over a point after a quick one-two from a ‘45, and Doyle converted two more frees for fouls on Amy Wilson and Ellen O’Brien.
The return of O’Brien is a welcome one for Masterson ahead of the championship, and with Róisín Murphy also back from her travels the Wexford boss will have a deeper pool of players to pick from in the summer.
While Wexford had plenty of the ball in the second-half and again put Armagh under pressure, they were a little guilty of trying to force the goal rather than take the points that were on offer.
They did get a late consolation when Katie White picked out Maria Byrne with a long ball and the Kilmore full-forward dispatched past the hosts’ ‘keeper.
For a point of reference, the last time Wexford faced Armagh, in Division 3 in 2014, the Ulster side won in Ballygarrett by 3-22 to 1-6 and it wasn’t even as close as that score suggests.
Armagh have got no worse in that time but the Slaneysiders have certainly got a lot better.
They now have a significant break before they kick off their Leinster Intermediate championship campaign on the weekend of June 15-16.
Wexford got the bye to the semi-final and will travel to the winners of Kildare and Longford.
Wexford: Mary Rose Kelly; Sadbh McCarthy, Marica Cullen, Niamh Mernagh; Clara Donnelly, Shauna Murphy, Aoife Tormey; Kellie Kearney, Niamh Moore; Sarah Harding-Kenny, Fiona Rochford (0-1), Niamh Butler (0-1); Chloe Foxe (0-1), Maria Byrne (1-0), Tara Doyle (05, 4 frees). Subs. - Katie White for Foxe, inj. (15), Ellen O’Brien for Kearney, inj. (20), Amy Wilson for Moore (45), Cailín Fitzpatrick for Rochford (45).