Wexford in freefall
Fourth heavy loss on trot for ladies
ARMAGH 4-18 WEXFORD 1-1
IT WAS another afternoon to forget for Wexford in Division 2 of the Lidl ladies’ football National League as Armagh battered them into submission in St. Patrick’s Park on Sunday.
Paul Carty’s side came into the game as the only team in the country to concede five or more goals in their first three games, and they ended it as the only team to allow four or more in every outing.
In the words of Yogi Berra, it was deja vu all over again. Armagh did what they liked, when they liked, and the biggest difference in this encounter compared to the previous games was that it felt like Wexford got more than their fair share of decisions based on pity from referee John Devlin and it helped keep the goal tally down.
Just two of the Wexford starting 15 were in the line-up when Anthony Masterson’s team lost their All-Ireland quarter-final to Meath last August (Aoife Tormey and Aisling Murphy), with most of those still in the squad from last season unavailable for this tie.
That is obviously adding to the difficulty for Carty and his management team as they try to get something from a nightmare campaign. There’s currently a lack of continuity amongst the mayhem, and it’s a recipe for these horrific defeats.
One comment from the Armagh sideline in the second-half pretty much summed it up. With Wexford looking to take a kick-out, the mentor shouted ‘they don’t know what they are doing, just press it’.
He was right. Wexford continue to struggle for primary possession, and it’s setting everything in motion as they rarely make it past midfield.
The 1-1 they scored was probably a fair reflection on the play they had, with Amy Wilson curling a free-kick to the net in the firsthalf, and Aisling Murphy adding a dead-ball deep into second-half added-time.
When Armagh were Senior back in 2014, Wexford played them in a league game in Ballygarrett and were well beaten by 3-22 to 1-6. None of those who played just six years ago were involved in this, but it seems things have gone full circle.
The positives were minimal but Leanne Delaney made a handful of excellent saves to keep the tally down.
Aoife Tormey was the pick of the Wexford defenders but she was under siege, while Minor Donna Delahunty looked lively off the bench and did enough to earn more minutes in the coming weeks.
Delaney had stopped a pointblank shot from Bláithín Mackin in the early stages but could do nothing to prevent the powerful Caroline O’Hanlon making it 1-4 to nil in the eighth minute.
After Mackin missed again, Wexford countered and Wilson fired home a 25-yard free-kick when Holly Hynes was fouled to make it 1-6 to 1-0.
The second quarter was all Armagh, as O’Hanlon and Kelly Mallon added majors while Niamh Reel floated a long-range attempt wide with the goal at her mercy.
Mackin saw her shot blocked and Aoife McCoy hit the foot of the post as the visitors went in 3-8 to 1-0 up.
The pattern of play continued after the interval. Three times in a row the unlucky Mackin fired inches over the crossbar when one-on-one as her side built a 3-14 to 1-0 lead at the end of the third quarter.
To add to Wexford woes, Aisling
Murphy was yellow-carded too in the 47th minute, and soon the substitutes came on in waves.
Niamh Marley punched home a fourth goal for Armagh, but some late pressure did get the hosts a second score, from Murphy’s free after she was fouled.
Wexford have this coming weekend free but return to action with a trip to Tyrone on March 8. A clash away to Clare follows two weeks later before they end their league campaign with a home game against Meath on March 29.
Wexford: Leanne Delaney; Niamh O’Gorman, Aoife Tormey, Eleanor Neville; Sinéad Murphy, Aisling Murphy (0-1 free), Ciara Bridges; Amy Wilson (1-0 free), Grace Cloney; Holly Hynes, Caitríona Murray (capt.), Ciara Banville; Katie White, Ailis Neville, Sherene Hamilton. Subs. - Donna Delahunty for Hamilton (44), Aisling Halligan for O’Gorman (44), Lorraine Sludds for Delaney (50), Lauren Murphy for Tormey, inj. (50), Emma Tomkins for Wilson (55).
Armagh: Anna Carr; Sarah Marley, Clodagh McCambridge, Mairéad Tennyson; Megan Sheridan, Niamh Marley (1-0), Aveen Donaldson (0-1); Fionnuala McKenna, Caroline O’Hanlon (2-4, 0-1 free); Niamh Reel (0-1), Kelly Mallon (capt., 1-4, 0-3 frees), Aoife McCoy (0-1); Edel Hagney (0-1), Bláithín Mackin (0-4), Catherine Marley. Subs. - Eva Lavery for C. Marley, inj. (34), Shauna Grey for Sheridan (42), Corinna Doyle (0-1) for Reel (42), Mairéad Watters for Mackin (45), Chloe McGill for S. Marley (48), Niamh Murphy for Hagney (50), Alex Clarke (0-1) for McCoy (52), Megan McCann for McKenna (55), Tiarna McVeigh for Tennyson (57), Moya Feehan for O’Hanlon (60), Eimear O’Brien for N. Marley (60+3), Grace Ferguson for Mallon (60+3), Nicola McKenna for Carr (60+4), Hagney for Lavery, temp. (60+7-FT).
Referee: John Devlin (Tyrone).