Nine goals conceded as football campaign gets off to poor start

LONGFORD 9-8 WEXFORD 4-11

THERE WAS a disappointing start to the Leinster ladies’ football Minor championship for Wexford on Wednesday as they slipped to a loss against Longford in Heywood, Co. Laois.

The Slaneysiders were in the contest until a couple of late Longford goals put victory out of reach. However, despite the battling qualities shown by Peter O’Brien’s side, a defeat would have been harsh on their opponents.

There were positives to take from the performance, as Wexford scored 4-11 and it could have been more with a little added composure at times. They probably shaded possession and the territorial battle which gives them a base to build upon in an attacking sense.

They were also able to get contributions from across their attacking sextet, with Leah Ormonde involved in more than her fair share of good moves, despite being the only starting forward without a score.

Wexford did a good job in midfield too and just about had the upper hand there, with Rachel Power and the outstanding Orlagh Kehoe seemingly everywhere.

Obviously, any day you concede 9-8 means there are also problems, but some quick fixes should lead to an immediate improvement. Where Longford excelled and Wexford lacked a little was their aggression, especially in defence.

Look at someone like Emma Tomkins, as the Clonee player is ‘all gas, no brake’ all the time. There’s no such thing as going for a ball with trepidation, and others can learn from that attitude.

Some frees will be given away, but as long as an honest attempt is made to get the ball, committing the odd foul is no big deal, certainly compared to conceding nine goals. The other instant fix concerns soft goals given up from kick-outs.

A forward shouldn’t stand goalside of a defender, collect the ball and be able to run in unchecked to net from your own goal kick at Under-14 level, so it is absolutely catastrophic that it happened twice in a Minor county game.

If a side isn’t fully prepared to excel at short kick-outs, the ball needs to go long until they have the required reps to make it a successful tactic.

Hannah Glennon sauntered in for the opening goal inside two minutes, and Grace Shannon forced Shauna O’Rourke into a fine save as Wexford were slow out of the blocks.

However, they seemed to get a foothold against the breeze and were on the front foot for a while after.

Sarah O’Donoghue got the first goal for the Slaneysiders, firing in the rebound after Ormonde’s shot was saved.

Emma Tomkins then pointed before Aoife Cullen was next to grab a goal at the second attempt when Ormonde was denied after another crisp passing move through the Longford defence.

When Orlagh Kehoe netted after good work by midfield partner Rachel Power, Wexford were flying.

They led by 3-2 to 1-0 after Grace Donovan tapped over, but Longford introduced Teni Alaba and things quickly got harder for the Slaneysiders.

Clodagh Lohan scored two Longford goals, dashing in from the left. Despite a Nicole Harding-Kenny point, the north Leinster girls took the lead back when Kamille Burke fired home in the 25th minute (4-3 to 3-4).

Kenny registered again before the interval, but a Lauren McGuire goal saw Longford lead by 5-4 to 3-5 at half-time.

Despite playing with the breeze, Wexford wasted a lot of chances in the third quarter. They did add points from O’Donoghue, Donovan (two) and Kehoe, but a McGuire goal meant they trailed by 6-7 to 3-9 with 14 minutes remaining.

Around this time it became apparent that referee Kevin Phelan had placed a point on the wrong side of his card, in Wexford’s favour, but after consultation with his umpire the mistake was amended.

Wexford got back to within four points when Kehoe flashed home her second goal with twelve minutes left. However, Longford added three goals in the remaining time, with just points from Donovan and Harding-Kenny leaving the Slaneysiders well in arrears.

There’s plenty of time for O’Brien and co. to work on their issues, with the next championship tie scheduled for mid-March against Offaly.

Wexford: Shauna O’Rourke (Shamrocks); Olive Curtis (Kilanerin), Edena Mimnagh (Clonee), Ciara Banville (Shelmalier); Donna Delahunty (Davidstown-Courtnacuddy), Juilet Rochford St. Anne’s, capt.), Aoife Bridges (St. Martin’s); Rachel Power (Adamstown), Orlagh Kehoe (Baile Dubh Tíre, 1-1); Grace Donovan (Clongeen, 0-4, 2 frees), Nicole Harding-Kenny (Shelmalier, 0-3), Emma Tomkins (Clonee, 0-1); Leah Ormonde (St. Fintan’s), Aoife Cullen (Gusserane, 2-1), Sarah O’Donoghue (St. Fintan’s, 1-1). Subs. - Orlaith Gaffney (Rathgarogue-Cushinstown), Ciara Shannon (Clonard/Volunteers), Áine Murphy (Starlights), Dervla Noctor (Kilanerin), Rachel Kavanagh (Clonee), Emma Barry (St. Martin’s), also Katie O’Reilly (Kilmore), Niamh McHugh (Baile Dubh Tíre), Katelyn Carty (Rathgarogue-Cushinstown), Orlagh Bolger (Kilanerin).

Longford: Riane McGrath; Sorcha Dawson (capt.), Avril Wilson, Aoife Donnelly; Shauna Heaney, Karen McLoughlin, Casey McNamara; Grace Shannon, Shauna Hagan (1-0); Anna Moorehead, Lauren McGuire (2-5, 0-1 free), Katelyn McKeon; Clodagh Lohan (3-0), Hannah Glennon (1-1), Kamille Burke (2-1). Subs. - Teni Alaba, Sarah Tully, Molly Mulvihill (0-1), Caoimhe McCormack, Katie Devlin, Maria Rehill, Siobhán Tully, also Aine Cox, Grace Kenny, Ciara Sutton.

Referee: Kevin Phelan (Laois).