Galway inflict two very heavy defeats on U16 girls
GALWAY WEXFORD
GALWAY RECORDED a second consecutive sizeable win as they sent Wexford out of All-Ireland Under-16 camogie championship contention in Gorey on Sunday.
It wasn’t quite the 52-point demolition which Limerick had to endure, but it was equally impressive as they pushed around the Wexford outfit.
The hosts led for just three minutes in this entire game as a result of Aoife O’Connor’s early free.
Galway quickly reacted to falling behind as Aoife Nic Donnacha finished under the crossbar after Eimear Goland had batted a long-range effort back to the forward.
Rachel Burke scored the Tribeswomen’s second goal in the eleventh minute. Her neat finish opened up a two-goal lead (2-2 to 0-2) after Emma Dempsey had pointed for the home side.
Galway then began to increase their points tally, both before and after the break. Niamh Niland and Niamh McPeake were the main contributors to their side’s ever-growing lead.
It wasn’t until Galway’s points tally reached twelve that they began raising the green flag again. Rachel Burke was the first to finish low, after a free-flowing move. Jennifer Hughes, Sinéad Coleman, McPeake and Burke all added minors before the travelling side got two more maximums to make the drive home extra sweet.
Aine Keane finished well after a mazy run and substitute Róisín Starr rounded Goland before succeeding with the easiest of tasks of placing into an empty net.
Wexford’s best moment of the half came four minutes after the re-start but it never looked like they could put a decent dent into Galway’s lead.
Dempsey’s strike simply had too much power for Katie Gilcreest to keep out. This, coupled with two more Dempsey minors, made the scoreline slightly more respectable as Galway closed out their 24-point victory.
Wexford: Eimear Goland; Amy Mitten, Amy Cahill, Alibeth Curran; Aoife Mahon, Ciara Walsh, Muireann Fitzpatrick; Aoife O’Connor (0-1 free), Lauren Doyle; Maria O’Dowd, Emma Dempsey (capt., 1-3), Siobhán Sinnott; Emma Tompkins, Molly Crowdle, Katie Codd (0-1). Subs. - Yvonne Kelly for Cahill (46), Niamh Cogley for O’Dowd (54), Lisa Kelly for Codd (55), Eimear Doyle for Mahon (59).
Galway: Katie Gilcreest; Grace McCarthy, Joanne Daly, Leah Crotty; Cora Kenny, Katie Manning, Aoife Brennan; Sarah McCartyn, Alanah Kelly; Niamh Niland (0-5, 1 free), Aine Keane (1-1, 0-1 ‘45), Sinéad Coleman (0-3); Aoife Nic Donnocha (1-0), Rachel Burke (2-1), Niamh McPeake (0-6, 1 free). Subs. - Jennifer Hughes (0-1) for Nic Donnacha (42), Megan Higgins for Crotty (54), Elaine Dolphin for Niland (58), Róisín Starr (1-0) for Burke (59). Referee: Gavin Donegan (Dublin). Galway 7-13, Wexford 0-3: Galway jumped to the top of Group A of the All-Ireland camogie Under-16 reserves championship with a scintillating performance against Wexford on Sunday in Gorey.
The majority of the damage was already done by half-time as the Tribeswomen exploded from the traps and put the Model girls to the sword.
The side in maroon rattled the net twice inside the opening twelve minutes, both courtesy of the fine finishing of Maoiliosa Walsh.
Then, for a moment it looked as if Wexford were going to put up a fight. Ella Dalton and Grace Roche both pointed from frees to reduce their deficit to five (2-1 to 0-2), while improved defending saw Galway’s scoring halted for over ten minutes.
However, this hope of a resurgence soon came to an end when Galway’s Sabina Rabbitte found her range.
Of the 5-12 Galway scored from the 23rd minute to full-time, 4-8 came from Rabbitte’s hurl.
She scored three majors before the interval and also assisted Fodhla Ní Bhraonáin in scoring her only goal. Their contribution created a 20-point lead for the away side at the break (6-4 to 0-2).
The second-half was quieter in terms of goalmouth action. Roche scored Wexford’s only point as Rabbitte added another goal and a raft of minors.
Chloe Farragher and substitute Chloe Higgins also chipped in to give Galway a crushing win as the hosts crashed out of contention.
Wexford: Sophie Roche; Lucy Egan, Olive McGarry, Katelyn O’Connor; Eilish O’Rourke, Eleanor Hammel, Abbie Dagg; Grace Roche (0-2 frees), Ciara O’Connor; Aine Murphy, Lauren Delaney, Donna Delahunty (capt.); Naoise Hennessy, Kelly Anne Dempsey, Ella Dalton (0-1 free). Subs. - Aine Doyle for Hennessy (31), Niamh Rowe for Dalton (31), Tanya Kennedy for S. Roche (31), Rebecca Fanning for Dagg (41), Niamh Cullen for O’Connor (44).
Galway: Amy Hawkins; Anna Kilduff, Meghan Wall, Caoimhe Gilligan; Laura Kelly, Aodháin Gardiner (joint capt.), Katie Anna Porter; Ruth Hanbury, Aoibhe Deely; Katelyn Lyons, Sinéad King, Chloe Farragher (0-3, 1 ‘45); Fodhla Ní Bhraonáin (1-0), Sabina Rabbitte (4-8, 0-4 frees), Maoiliosa Walsh (joint capt., 2-0). Subs. - Jasmine Scully for Kilduff (5), Clara Curtin for Hanbury (36), Rachel McInerney for Ní Bhraonáin (36), Chloe Higgins (0-2) for Walsh (41), Aoife Gillane for Lyons (42).
Referee: Paul Ryan (Cork).