Minors edged out
Waterford girls strike for vital goal
WATERFORD 1-8 WEXFORD 0-9
WEXFORD WERE edged out by Waterford in their opening encounter in this season’s All-Ireland Minor camogie championship at the Tara Rocks ground on Saturday.
After the original fixture was postponed seven days earlier, the game was quickly re-arranged, with both squads keen to get a solid fixture under their belts before big tests like Cork, Tipperary and Dublin arrive in the coming weeks.
This group wasn’t able to make a huge impression as Under-16s two seasons ago, so there’s not much pressure on them coming into this campaign.
They can play without real expectations of booking a semi-final spot in a tough group.
In truth, despite being the first game of the round-robin stage, for any chance to progress this was almost a must-win with the level of opponent still to come.
It was always going to be difficult as Waterford have been improving at under-age level in recent years and have had success at schools level too.
Wexford played with the breeze in the opening half and got off to the start they would have been targeting in the opening quarter.
Aoife O’Connor got her side going with a couple of frees, while Lauren Conroy, Andrea Fielding and Siobhán Sinnott all registered as they went 0-5 to 0-2 up.
When O’Connor added another free and dual starlet Emma Tomkins followed with her opening score, Wexford held a five-point lead early in the second quarter.
However, they didn’t register again in the half, and Waterford nabbed a late goal to put themselves in pole position at the break (0-7 to 1-3).
The hosts were strong down the spine of the side, with Miria O’Dowd, Aoife O’Connor, Emma Dempsey and Fielding all showing well.
Wexford remained right in the game as an early Waterford point was countered by minors from Dempsey and Tomkins.
Leading by 0-9 to 1-4 heading into the final quarter, Wexford ran out of stream.
The Déise rounded out the game with four points in the last eight minutes to take the spoils by a couple of points and send their opponents off to a losing start.
Wexford will expect to have things mostly their own way when they host Laois this coming Saturday (venue and time TBC), but then it hots up with a trip to Tipp. seven days later.
The Slaneysiders close out the group with games against Cork and Dublin later in March, so it’s going to take a major effort to reach the knockout stages.
Wexford: Eimear Goland; Katelyn O’Connor, Miria O’Dowd, Niamh Cogley; Ailish O’Rourke, Aoife O’Connor (0-3 frees), Ava Farrell; Muireann Fitzpatrick, Lauren Delaney; Katie Bates, Emma Dempsey (0-1), Siobhán Sinnott (0-1); Lauren Conroy (0-1), Andrea Fielding (0-1), Emma Tomkins (0-2). Subs. - Abbie Dagg, Kerri Doyle-Kinsella, Katie Murphy, Róisín Scallan, Molly Crowdle, Nadine Fortune, Hannah White, Donna Delahunty, Faye Codd, Rachel Murphy, Fiona Cousins, Cora Redmond, Grace Roche.