Footballers endure yet another thrashing
TYRONE WEXFORD 4-17 0-3
THE END of the Lidl ladies’ football National League can’t come quickly enough for Wexford as their young side continue to struggle with the pace and intensity of the game on a week-to-week basis.
Tyrone are the latest in a line of five to smash four or more goals past the Slaneysiders after they coasted to victory when the sides met in Augher on Sunday.
At the moment Paul Carty seems to be piecing a team together every weekend, with very little continuity afforded when players are available one week, and unavailable the next.
Losing doesn’t help but there is obviously a realisation that Wexford just can’t compete at this level with this squad.
Tyrone were two points up when Aisling Murphy kicked Wexford’s first score in the third minute, but the visitors didn’t register again in the opening half. The Ulster side kept chipping away on the scoreboard and netted through Gráinne Rafferty.
The home side led by 1-12 to 0-1 at half-time and kept building on it. Niamh O’Neill added a brace of Tyrone majors within seven minutes of the resumption, but Ciara Banville did pop over a Wexford point in the 44th minute.
A fourth goal, this one from Caitlin Kelly, added further gloss to the Tyrone account but Wexford at least ended the game with the last score of the afternoon, a second Aisling Murphy dead-ball that left her side 26 points in arrears at the full-time whistle.
Wexford have a weekend off now but round out the league with games over back-to-back weekends.
They travel to a confident Meath side on March 22 before finishing things when Clare come to the south-east seven days later.
Wexford: Leanne Delaney; Niamh O’Gorman, Aoife Tormey, Aisling Halligan; Róisín Fitzgerald, Clara Donnelly, Donna Delahunty; Aisling Murphy (0-2 frees), Sarah Harding-Kenny; Sherene Hamilton, Ciara Banville (0-1), Ciara Bridges; Katie White, Aoife Bridges, Niamh Butler. Subs. - Lorraine Sludds for Delaney (31), Lauren Murphy for White (44), Nicole Harding-Kenny for
C. Bridges (46), Rachel Power for A. Bridges (51), Sarah O’Donoghue for Hamilton (51), Hamilton for O’Gorman (60).
Tyrone: Shannon Lynch; Christiane Hunter, Emma Mulgrew, Aileen Tuohey; Aimee Daly, Tori McLaughlin, Slaine McCarroll; Aoibheann McHugh, Emma Jane Gervin (0-2); Niamh Hughes, Emma Brennan (0-5), Chloe McCaffrey (0-4); Niamh O’Neill (2-4), Caitlin Kelly (1-0), Gráinne Rafferty (1-2). Subs. - Caoleann Conway for Hunter, Anna McDonald for McLaughlin, Joanne Barrett for Mulgrew, Aoife McConnell for Tuohey, Emma Hegarty for Hughes, Orlagh McNamee for McCarroll, Maria Canavan for Brennan, Dearbhla Gallagher for McCaffrey, Orlagh Gavin for Rafferty, Sasha Byrne for Kelly, Niamh McCrystal for O’Neill.
Referee: Siobhán Coyle (Donegal).