Camogie defeat to reigning champions
Positives to be taken from defeat to champs
GALWAY 5-17 WEXFORD 3-9
DESPITE FALLING to a 14-point loss against Galway in Bellefield on Sunday, there was plenty to build on for Wexford after their first game in the Liberty Insurance All-Ireland Senior camogie championship.
It’s a new dawn for the Slaneysiders, under rookie boss Kevin Tattan, and it will take a lot of work to get to Galway’s level. However, the shoots of improvement were there, and Wexford were at least able to play with equal levels of strategy and desire.
The hosts suffered hugely from individual errors and poor decisions that led to goals, but that’s understandable given the level of inexperience in defence.
The game provided plenty of learning opportunities and chances for players to improve and grow, and those will be a focus in the two weeks heading into a trip to Cork.
This was clearly a huge advance from anything the county team has produced in the last few years. Tattan’s side knew what they wanted to achieve and went after the visitors and were within four points early in the second-half.
The strength of Galway’s bench did help the westerners pull ahead in the last few minutes, but the final score shouldn’t detract from the overall huge improvements from a team that was completely devoid of everything in 2019.
One thing they might need to learn from as a managerial team is to cut out the constant screaming at the referee. Owen Elliott was fine all game and Wexford certainly weren’t hard done by, but the continual rabbiting eventually becomes counter productive and reputations are easily earned.
There are valid times when a shout or roar from the line might be necessary and could help, but turning your voice to white noise when you are losing comfortably is giving away any potential future advantage.
Siobhán McGrath and Carrie Dolan had the visitors on the board in the first few minutes, and Galway went further ahead when Aoife Donohue’s ball was caught on the run by Catherine Finnerty, drifting across the field from centre to right.
Laura Dempsey was tight on her all the way to the shot that ended up in the back of the net, but given how well the Glynn-Barntown clubwoman covered the run, conceding a free and point would have been a fine trade-off.
Maybe Wexford of the last few years would have quit when down by 1-2 to nil.
Instead Chloe Foxe and Linda Bolger combined down the left, and the latter was blocked off but Mag Byrne picked up the loose ball and did what she does best, drilling to the net.
Galway’s tidy start did continue, as Dolan and Niamh Kilkenny both pointed before Ailish O’Reilly beat Dempsey from Donohue’s ball and fired low to the net. After Donohue pointed herself, Wexford started to find their grove.
Nora Higgins scored a really nice point from distance before Shelley Kehoe took advantage of good play by Foxe to score. Down by 2-5 to 1-2 at the water break, Wexford kept pressing and Foxe converted a dead-ball to pull her side closer.
Linda Bolger left four between the sides, only for Dolan to respond at the other end. A sensational point by Joanne Dillon from close to the sideline showed how confident Wexford were, but the mistakes kept coming as Laura Brennan batted the ball to O’Reilly and the Galway forward made no mistake with the finish.
Foxe tacked on a couple of late points as Wexford went in at half-time trailing by 3-9 to 1-7. The hosts emerged from the break with another dead-ball score from the St. Martin’s player, before their best move of the game produced a stunning goal.
It started with Sarah O’Connor and continued down the Galway spine, with Bolger and Kehoe involved. Kehoe flipped the last handpass in to Dillon, and the Rathgarogue-Cushinstown performer battered her shot past Sarah Healy to leave four between the sides (3-9 to 2-8).
Against the light breeze, Wexford missed some dead-ball chances to cut the deficit further. An ill-advised bit of attempted linkup play between Dempsey and Ciara O’Connor allowed Niamh Hanniffy to pounce in the 41st minute and she sauntered through to net.
It was 4-11 to 2-8 at the water break, but there was a feeling that Wexford had given more than 75 per cent of their energy. Bolger did knock over a free but Galway started to pull clear with Dolan, Donohue and Orlaith McGrath on the board.
The fifth goal, which came after a collision between several Wexford defenders that allowed Donohue to saunter through to net, ensured the champions would head back west with the victory.
Wexford kept battling and Sarah O’Connor powered down the middle before flashing home a cracking individual goal in the last minute of normal time. However, a couple of late Dolan points left 14 between the sides at full-time.
Kevin Tattan and his side will have two weeks to work on things ahead of a daunting trip to Cork on October 31. They will round out their group campaign with a home game against Offaly seven days later.
Wexford: Laura Brennan; Laura Dempsey, Anna Hennessy, Katie O’Connor; Ciara O’Connor (1-0), Sarah O’Connor, Emma Walsh; Nora Higgins (0-1), Amy Cardiff (capt.); Linda Bolger (0-2 frees), Shelley Kehoe (0-1), Chloe Foxe (0-4, 3 frees); Mag Byrne (1-0), Jackie Quigley, Joanne Dillon (1-1). Subs. - Anais Curran for Higgins (31), Róisín Kelly for Byrne (47), Leah Walsh for Foxe (56), also Lara O’Shea, Louise O’Leary, Áine Lacey, Tara Doyle, Kate Kirwan, Eimear O’Connor.
Galway: Sarah Healy; Shauna Healy, Sarah Dervan (capt.), Heather Cooney; Emma Helebert, Siobhán Gardiner, Tara Kenny; Aoife Donohue (1-2), Caitríona Cormican (0-1); Carrie Dolan (0-9, 7 frees, 1 ’45), Niamh Hanniffy (1-0), Niamh Kilkenny (0-1); Siobhán McGrath (0-2), Ailish O’Reilly (2-0), Catherine Finnerty (1-0). Subs. - Orlaith McGrath for Kilkenny, temp. (30+3-31+3), McGrath (0-1) for O’Reilly (37), Niamh McGrath for Kilkenny (53), Anne Marie Starr for Cormican (53), Róisín Black for Helebert (57), Rebecca Hennelly (0-1) for Finnerty (57).
Referee: Owen Elliott (Antrim).