Tough first season for Under-13 side ends in a heavy defeat

A TOUGH first season for the Wexford F.C. Under-13 side came to an end with a heavy loss to Shelbourne in Ferrycarrig Park on Saturday.

It was always going to be an uphill task for David Maher’s side, as they were placed into Group 4 with Bray Wanderers, Shamrock Rovers, UCD, Waterford and Cabinteely and, despite a promising start, it proved to be too tough an ask for the young team.

Wexford started their campaign on March 16 at home to Cabinteely, and goals from Haig Conroy and Lucas Fitzpatrick were enough for the hosts to secure a 2-1 win.

A 4-0 loss to UCD a week later did bring them back to earth with a bang.

Harry Sherlock put Wexford a goal to the good in their third competitive outing at home to Waterford, but the boys from the R.S.C. hit back with two second-half goals to take the points back down the N25.

Bray ended the opening group stages at the top of the table and, despite a Kevin

Barron goal, they gave Wexford a lesson in week four.

Darragh Harris and Cormac Mythen scored against Shamrock Rovers in mid-April, but Wexford conceded six to the Tallaght boys.

Having played everyone once, Wexford knew a little better where they stood.

And they didn’t enjoy the return fixture against Rovers a week later when Chris Frawley scored their only goal of the ten registered that day.

Wexford enjoyed home comforts much more in match week seven, but a classy Bray Wanderers still prove a step above in a 1-0 win.

Kevin Barron put his side ahead when Wexford went to neighbours Waterford in mid-May, but Seán Keane equalised as the game finished level.

A heavy loss against UCD followed in the second-last game of the opening group stage, and a four-goal defeat away to Cabinteely rounded out the first phase, with Wexford bottom of the pile with four from a possible 30 points.

Out of contention for the cup, Wexford dropped into shield Group 2 for the second part of the season, and they were joined in the round-robin stage by Shelbourne, Kerry, Cobh Ramblers and former foes Cabinteely and Waterford.

Results didn’t pick up initially as Shelbourne came south to Bogside in Castlebridge and went away with a 4-0 win.

Kerry proved their quality in the second contest, winning 5-1 despite a goal by Darragh Harris for the visitors to Mounthawk Park.

Wexford did bounce back with an impressive victory over Cabinteely in mid-July. A 3-1 success got them their first three points since they beat the same opposition in the first week of the season.

Waterford sent their rivals back down to earth with a 3-0 win at Ferrycarrig Park in game week four, while Cobh Ramblers showed no mercy a week later with a 4-0 success. Things were different the next time they met.

Darragh Harris put Wexford ahead in the first minute at Ferrycarrig Park on August 10. Haig Conroy made it two and the hosts were in dreamland when a 21st-minute Kevin Barron strike stretched the lead to 3-0.

Ramblers pulled two goals back in the second-half to set the nerves jangling, but a second Harris goal on full-time ensured Wexford took the spoils.

A 1-0 loss away to Waterford followed a week later in the Institute of Technology pitch at Carriganore.

Next up Kerry won 4-0 against Wexford. At Kilternan in early September, Cabinteely had an early lead against Wexford, but if there was one team the Ferrycarrig Park boys had the measure of, it was the green and whites, and a Haig Conroy goal ensured they went home with a share of the spoils.

A Jack Byrne goal gave Shelbourne a 1-0 win in the final round-robin game of the season, but Wexford went one better in the second group stages, finishing fifth ahead of Cobh Ramblers.

It wasn’t enough to get Wexford into the shield semi-finals, with just the top two qualifying.

Instead David Maher’s side were left with an uninspiringly named shield cup to compete for, opposite Cabinteely and Shelbourne in a mini-group.

For the fourth time in their five meetings since March, Cabinteely couldn’t get the better of the Ferrycarrig Park side, and a 0-0 draw sent Wexford into the second game with a little confidence.

That left Shelbourne’s visit to Ferrycarrig Park last weekend, when Haig Conroy gave Wexford the lead in the early stages, but the opposition had turned it into a 2-1 lead for them by the interval.

Three more goals followed in the second-half as the north Dublin side ran out comfortable 5-1 victors to end the season for David Maher’s outfit.

Wexford F.C. Under-13 squad: Cormac Mythen, Jack Reck, Chris Frawley, Conor Sidney, Kevin Barron, Lucas Fitzpatrick, Jake Nolan, Darragh Harris, Harry Sherlock, Louis Cullen, Thomas Kelly, Cillian Maher, Matthew Calder, Haig Conroy, Dylan Lennon, Patrick Purcell.