Ladies let clearcut lead slip
Tipp too good for Wexford in National League opener
IT SEEMS some habits are hard to shake. It’s quite something to look unstoppable in one half and in disarray in the other, but the Wexford ladies’ footballers have plenty of previous form in that regard.
The tale of the one-half wonders has another grizzly chapter after the visit of Tipperary to St. Patrick’s Park on Sunday saw Wexford batter the Premier for the first period and disappear into their tired shell after the break.
Many of those showings have come in Division 3 of the Lidl National League. Recent managers Billy Donnelly and Shane McCormack have endured them, and so too, now, has new boss Anthony Masterson.
Like so many of those that came before, the intensity and energy exerted had a big bearing on the game. Wexford were buzzing with enthusiasm in the first-half. The movement off the ball was probably the best it has been in a long time.
Everybody wanted in on the action. It was clever, smart, attractive football. It was exciting. Then half-time came and gaps began to appear, the running was laboured and execution suffered as the game wore on. The last quarter was particularly ugly.
But nobody will lose sleep over the second-half, nor should they. It’s January and there was more than enough to suggest that 2017 has the potential to be a great year for the Wexford ladies.
There were new faces but it was the old guard that backboned the first-half showing. Former Kerry All Star nominee Bernie Breen is the high-profile acquisition this year and she had an effective, if unspectacular, debut for her adopted county in midfield.
Gusserane’s Aisling Murphy grabbed a couple of points and showed enough to suggest that she will be an excellent addition. Sarah Merrigan in goal did superbly with players coming at her, but dropping two high balls into the net and another that led to the late penalty is cause for concern.
Wexford had two points on the board in the opening minutes, courtesy of Catríona Murray and Ellen O’Brien, when Sarah Everard’s hopeful effort was spilled over the line. Kellie Kearney kicked a nice score from the left wing to make it 1-2 to 0-3 after a frantic seven minutes.
A couple of let-offs seemed to galvanise Wexford and they set off on a scoring blitz in the second quarter. Ellen O’Brien popped over, then Fiona Rochford, the creator, kicked three in a row.
Minors from Murray and Aisling Murphy made it 0-9 to 1-4 in the 24th minute. Fiona Bennett got in on Rochford’s pass but saw her powerful shot saved by Lauren Fitzpatrick.
However, the ball bounced back to her and she was fouled for a penalty.
Much like her spot-kick in the 2014 All-Ireland final, Fiona Rochford dragged the penalty wide left. Still, Wexford didn’t have to wait long for their opening goal as Bennett picked out Clara Donnelly with a crossfield pass and the Shelmalier star rattled the net.
When Murray was blocked two minutes later it seemed the chance for another goal was gone. However, the ball spun out to Donnelly again and she drilled, soccer-style, along the ground to the bottom corner to make it 2-9 to 1-4 at the break.
There was nine in it when Aisling Murphy notched her second point within three minutes of the restart. While they failed to score again, what was coming really only started to take shape in the fourth quarter.
It was 2-10 to 1-5 when Ellen O’Brien’s shot was adjudged to have not crossed the line in the 38th minute. It was a rare chance as the Slaneysiders began to lose the individual battles all over the field.
A Gillian O’Brien point in the 43rd minute started the onslaught. The score was 2-10 to 1-10 when the excellent Aisling McCarthy pointed in the 57th minute and Wexford were bending hard. They soon broke and it was not pretty.
Caoimhe Condon ghosted in on Jennifer Grant’s pass with two minutes remaining to net and level the scores.
Merrigan fumbled Aishling Moloney’s long-range free into the goal less than a minute later.
When she dropped another booming effort to Róisín Howard in the 60th minute, Marica Cullen dragged down the Tipperary forward, was sin-binned and Jennifer Grant completed the comeback with a clinical penalty.
Next up for Anthony Masterson’s side is a home tie against Offaly on Sunday (2 p.m., venue TBC). It’s one they will expect to win if they are going to push for a league semi-final place in the coming weeks and months.
Wexford: Sarah Merrigan; Brídín Doyle, Marica Cullen, Marguerite Doyle; Georgina Hearn, Róisín Murphy, Niamh Moore; Bernie Breen, Kellie Kearney (0-1); Ellen O’Brien (02), Fiona Rochford (capt., 0-3, 1 free), Clara Donnelly (2-0); Fiona Bennett, Aisling Murphy (0-2), Catríona Murray (0-2, 1 free). Subs. - Chantelle Martin for Kearney (50), Ciara Corrigan for Hearne (54), also Mary Rose Kelly, Maeve Quill, Beth Cardiff, Lorraine Breen, Niamh Butler, Ann Byrne, Siobhán Cloake, Elaine McCabe, Eleanor Neville, Emer Cahill, Fiona Rowe, Maria Byrne, Trina Sinnott.
Tipperary: Lauren Fitzpatrick; Bríd Condon, Emma Buckley, Maria Curley; Caoimhe Condon (1-1), Samantha Lambert (capt.), Siobhán Condon; Elaine Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Grant (1-1, 1 -0 pen.); Gillian O’Brien (0-2), Orla O’Dwyer, Catherine Walsh; Sarah Everard (1-0), Aisling McCarthy (0-5, 2 frees), Mairéad Morrissey. Subs. - Aisling Moloney (1-0 free) for S. Condon (31), Edith Carroll for Walsh (43), Shauna Quirke (0-1) for Morrissey (43), Elaine Kelly for Curley (43), Róisín Howard for Everard (54).
Referee: Niall McCormack (Laois).