STRONG FINISH
Minors beat Cork but depart
WEXFORD CORK
WEXFORD HAVE been left to rue their early-season form as victory over Group A table-toppers Cork proved to be in vain for Neil Cullen’s side when they exited the All-Ireland Minor camogie championship on score difference in Piercestown on Saturday.
The Slaneysiders had a bye on the opening weekend and, while the other sides got match sharp, they were left preparing as best they could without the bite of competitive action.
It was clear for anyone who saw their first game against Dublin, then took in this one, that the intensity level was on a different scale altogether.
Had they played against their Leinster rivals, the way they did in this clash, they would probably be sitting pretty in a semi-final spot right now.
This type of performance is exactly what Wexford camogie is all about. These girls flew into every challenge, attacked every breaking ball and never gave their visitors a second without torment.
There is a caveat, to a certain extent. Already qualified Cork made a whopping 15 changes from their win against Galway in the previous round, with their squad players all getting a chance to stake a claim for a semi-final spot in the side.
That said, Wexford won by five, but in the end they would have needed to win by almost seven times that to qualify, after Galway thumped Dublin to take the second spot. However, a 15-point victory, or thereabouts, certainly wouldn’t have flattered the home side.
Playing with the breeze, they went after the game from the off, and Anais Curran popped over the first three points before Lauren Murphy made it 0-4 to nil. The St. Ibar’s/Shelmalier clubwoman was excellent again, probably the most improved player since last season’s memorable Under-16 campaign.
Lettie Whelan and Sarah Harding-Kenny provided the assists for Curran as Wexford moved 0-6 to nil in front by the twelfth minute. They will be disappointed to only add a solitary Curran ‘45 before the break but they did have several decent openings.
Murphy thumped a shot that Deirdre O’Reilly saved, Curran got blocked out when it looked to be opening up for her inside the Cork full-back line, and Lettie Whelan smacked a shot into the side-netting as the home county went it 0-7 to 0-1 ahead.
The message was clear at the break, go after the goals. However, mere seconds after the re-start, the sliothar slipped from Gráinne McCabe under intense pressure, into the path of Casey Coleman, and she had the easy task of tapping into an empty net.
Cork looked set to turn around the deficit when Hannah O’Leary and Sally McCarthy pointed by the 35th minute to close their side within one. With ferocious hit after thunderous thump, the sides were scoreless in a breathless next 15 minutes.
In this spell the action was intense, and it was also extremely entertaining. It was at this stage of the game that Harding-Kenny announced herself on the camogie stage, having long-since made leaps in the ladies’ football scene.
She was involved in everything. Often ‘everything’ involved being sent flying to the deck, as Harding-Kenny must have been fouled in excess of ten times but she kept bouncing back up, winning possession and creating attacking positions.
The scoring hiatus was broken by Wexford in the 50th minute. Ciara O’Connor dropped a free from distance into the edge of the square, and it pinged around for a while until Lettie Whelan pulled on it and flashed it into the Leesiders’ net.
In fairness to the visitors, they defended like their championship lives depended on it in the last ten minutes. O’Connor scored one final free, by which time it was obvious that her side were going to come up short.
Despite being out of the All-Ireland championship, this side can still achieve something in the coming months. They will take a break for the exam season in the coming weeks before returning to action on July 22 for a Leinster semi-final against Dublin.
Wexford: Gráinne McCabe; Aisling Halligan, Anna Hennessy, Elaine Quigley; Alannah Davis, Ciara O’Connor (0-1 free), Laura Doran; Sarah Harding-Kenny, Kate Kirwan; Megan Cullen, Anais Curran (0-6, 2 frees, 1 ‘45), Katie Smyth; Lettie Whelan (10), Lauren Murphy (0-1), Ailis Neville. Subs. - Ciara Banville for Smyth, inj. (42), also Lara O’Shea, Ciara Carroll, Ciara Walsh, Ciara Bridges, Amy Cahill, Doireann Cullen, Eimear O’Connor, Mollie Somers, Saoirse Dunne, Niamh Kehoe, Amy O’Leary, Mollie Power.
Cork: Deirdre O’Reilly; Ciara Murphy, Aideen Buckley, Emily Buckley; Aine Keating, Aisling O’Donovan, Lucy Wallace; Sally McCarthy (0-1), Ellen Murphy; Casey Coleman (1-0), Suzanne Bateman, Hannah O’Leary (0-2, 1 free); Michelle Fitzpatrick, Olivia Murphy, Orla Creman. Subs. - Saoirse McCarthy for E. Murphy (30+2), Laura Hayes for O. Murphy (30+2), Moira Barrett for Fitzpatrick (31), Emma Murphy for O’Donovan (53).
Referee: Ray Kelly (Kildare).