Youthful ladies slump to third heavy league loss in succession
CAVAN WEXFORD 6-19 1-5
WEXFORD FELL to their third big defeat in a row in Division 2 of the Lidl ladies’ National Football League, losing to Cavan on the Kingspan Breffni 5G surface on Sunday.
The increasingly youthful Slaneysiders came into the game with heavy home losses to Monaghan and Kerry under their belts and were no match for the experienced Ulster side in this re-fixture.
It was always likely to be too big a task for Paul Carty’s team against a talented Cavan outfit with Senior pedigree. They Breffni girls had opened their campaign with a one-point loss to Kerry, but bounced back to defeat Meath one week later.
Wexford had plenty of inexperience in their opening two fixtures, but their lineup against Cavan was on another level.
As well as the newbies from previous outings, there were full debuts for Holly Hynes, Aoife Bridges and Emma Tomkins as the Slaneysiders continue to get younger and younger.
Wexford had conceded 11-38 in their two previous games and began this on the back foot too, with Catherine Dolan finding the net for Cavan within a minute.
Aisling Maguire added another in the sixth minute, but Ailis Neville did get her side on the board with a point moments later (2-1 to 0-1).
Sinéad Greene found the net for a third Cavan major in just ten minutes before
Caitríona Murray replied with a point at the other end. A Muireann Cusack goal meant the hosts ended the first quarter 4-4 to 0-2 ahead.
Aoife Bridges got her first score in an adult Wexford jersey, but Cavan were in for a fifth goal, a Muireann Cusack major, to make it 5-5 to 0-3.
Moments of respite were few and far between for the visitors, but Caitríona Murray did fire home a 24th-minute penalty.
Kellie Kearney and Murray added further points before the interval as Wexford went in trailing by 5-8 to 1-5, but with their side facing into the breeze in the second-half, things weren’t looking good.
While the Leinster Intermediate champions were able to keep Cavan to 1-11 in the second period, with Aisling Maguire netting for a second time, they were unable to move their own side of the scoreboard as they fell to a 29-point defeat.
Things are getting serious for Wexford now with four round-robin games remaining. Given their struggles so far, the Slaneysiders are clearly relegation favourites, but all is not lost with Clare also yet to find their best form.
Wexford host Armagh this weekend (Sunday, 2 p.m.), with games against Tyrone, Clare and Meath still to come.
Given the way things are going, that game away to Clare on March 8 looks highly likely to be the one that decides who is relegated to Division 3.
Wexford: Leanne Delaney; Anne Byrne, Aoife Tormey, Eleanor Neville; Clara Donnelly, Ciara Banville, Aoife Bridges (0-1); Kellie
Kearney (0-1), Holly Hynes; Grace Cloney, Caitríona Murray (1-2, 1-0 pen., 0-1 free), Sherene Hamilton; Emma Tomkins, Jane Rossiter, Ailis Neville (0-1). Subs. - Lorraine Sludds for Delaney, Aoife Cullen for Rossiter, Donna Delahunty for Tomkins.
Cavan: Elaine Walsh; Kate McIntyre, Rachel Doonan, Sheila Reilly; Eimear Corcoran, Shauna Lynch, Sinéad Greene (1-1); Nessa Byrd (capt., 0-1), Aoibhinn Kiernan; Joanne Moore (0-1), Lauren McVeety, Catherine Dolan (1-0); Aisling Gilsenan (0-2), Aisling Maguire (2-5, 0-2 frees), Muireann Cusack (2-2). Subs. - Róisín O’Keeffe (0-3), Laura Fitzpatrick, Donna English (0-2), Ciara Finnegan (0-1), Michaela Doonan, Geraldine Sheridan (0-1), Róisín Dolan, Katie Mulligan, Elaine Brady, Niamh Daly, Geraldine Smith.
Referee: Brendan Rice (Down).