LIDL NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION Ice-cool Rochford earns
LADIES’ FOOTBALL Teenage defender in outstanding form as
BY HER own lofty standards, Fiona Rochford was having a quiet afternoon. Two points early in the second-half were useful, but Wexford have come to rely on their captain for more than a brace per game.
Still, who else would boss Anthony Masterson want in the clutch situation? Nobody, and that’s exactly why St. Anne’s star Rochford stepped up to the plate with everything on the line as the seconds ticked away.
Three, two, one, boom. One sweet strike later, the ball was over the bar and the hooter squealed for full-time. It felt like the breaking of a mini-curse, the collapses of 2016 long thrown into the rear-view mirror, never to be repeated, finally exorcised.
Wexford can push on from their Lidl Ladies’ National Football League Division 3 final draw with Tipperary in Clane on Sunday. They didn’t even come close to their best performance of the season and still took a draw. It was all heart. Well, it was mostly heart.
It was also two young defenders playing both brilliant and intelligent games under the biggest pressure of their young inter-county careers. It was incredible to see Sarah Harding-Kenny take the player of the match award.
In a close game an experienced head usually gets the call, one that’s been around the block and performed solidly. Kudos therefore to the person who picked up on a truly stunning performance by the 16-year-old Shelmalier starlet.
Harding-Kenny was majestic, happy to concede a step to take the correct position, catch up and win ball after ball ahead of experienced attackers. It was a sight to behold, surely one of the best performances ever seen in a league final by a Minor.
While Harding-Kenny will rightfully get the plaudits, another teenager took one for the team, was beaten a few times but battled to the death. Niamh Mernagh will be overlooked by many but the tight-marking job she did on Aisling Maloney was unselfish and gutsy.
No Wexford player was going to win that battle, it was about containment of Tipperary’s best attacker, and three Moloney points from play (one of which wasn’t her responsibility) was a fantastic result for her shadow from Horeswood.
Mernagh was clever, as it wasn’t always about being inches away from her player, it was about giving her as little opportunity to dictate as possible. When the Wexford defender started to give her a few yards, keeping her out of shooting distance, a short sideways pass was a great result for the Slaneysiders.
There were negatives, especially in the other half of the field. There may be complaints about the ‘defensive’ set-up of Anthony Masterson’s side, but the Castletown man got his team selection spot-on, with players in the correct places to make an impact.
What no manager can legislate for is poor decision-making, and Wexford were guilty of that a little too often. The over-working of the ball in scoring positions in the first-half, against the breeze, was understandable but it continued after the break.
There are enough players in the Wexford side who are able to shoot accurately and consistently from 30 metres out, so not everything has to be forced in around the ’20, leaving the eventual shooter under intense pressure and often off-balance.
One of the few times it worked was in the second minute when Wexford took the lead. Ellen O’Brien worked hard to get the ball to Fiona Rochford right of goal, the captain forced it across to Aisling Murphy, and the Gusserane attacker made no mistake with a cool finish to the Tipp net.
Murphy added a point in the sixth minute, from Clara Donnelly’s pass, to make it 1-1 to nil. Wexford had other chances, including a block on Murphy’s goalbound shot, but they struggled for scores.
They were also helped by the first of two Tipperary yellows in the first-half, with Aisling McCarthy the first to go for a foul on Sarah Harding-Kenny bursting out of defence. In her absence, Aishling Moloney kicked her side on the scoreboard with a 14th-minute free after Mairéad Morrissey was fouled.
Moloney’s height was crucial when winning contested ball against Mernagh in the 16th minute, and she worked a yard and pointed. However, Murphy, positioned at the edge of the square, punched to the net from Catríona Murray’s attempt at a point that dipped short to send Wexford 2-1 to 0-2 clear.
The Slaneysiders failed to register any more against the light breeze. Morrissey scored a nice point, and then McCarthy added another. Moments after Jennifer Grant was sin-binned, Moloney flighted over her third of the afternoon two minutes before the interval to narrow the gap to two (2-1 to 0-5).
Moloney won the throw-in, broke clear and pointed within 15 seconds of the re-start, a score that couldn’t be levelled against her shadow, Mernagh. Fiona Rochford responded with her first point after Ellen O’Brien was felled.
McCarthy nailed a tricky free after she was fouled but turned down a chance to level a minute later by attempting a crossfield pass instead of a shot at the posts. Rochford scored a super point when having a go from 30 metres out in the 36th minute (2-3 to 0-7).
Yet, just seconds before Grant was due to come back after her ten minutes out, Marica Cullen was booked for Wexford and the tables turned. McCarthy scored the resulting free and, while Wexford dealt well with 14, Tipperary did level in the 48th minute through McCarthy.
From an Orla O’Dwyer feed, McCarthy gave the Premier girls their first lead with just ten minutes remaining. Ellen O’Brien scored her side’s third point of the half less than 60 seconds later to tie the game for the second time (2-4 to 0-10).
A dreadful free conceded by Bernie Breen for over-carrying under zero pressure allowed McCarthy to kick Tipp ahead again, but Wexford substitute Chantelle Martin showed her class, scoring a superb point with the outside of her left boot.
A seventh McCarthy point, for an infringement on Moloney, gave the Munster side a 0-12 to 2-5 advantage in the 57th minute, but Wexford had one last push and levelled the game through Rochford after Jennifer Grant was penalised for slow-playing a defensive free-kick.
The sides must now do it all over again. They will meet in the Division 3 final replay on the weekend of May 13-14.
Wexford: Mary Rose Kelly; Sarah Harding-Kenny, Marica Cullen, Marguerite Doyle; Niamh Mernagh, Róisín Murphy, Georgina Hearn; Bernie Breen, Kellie Kearney; Clara Donnelly, Catríona Murray, Niamh Butler; Ellen O’Brien (0-1), Fiona Rochford (capt., 0-3, 2 frees), Aisling Murphy (2-1). Subs. - Chantelle Martin (0-1) for Butler (50), Siobhán Cloake for O’Brien (56), also Sarah Merrigan, Brídín Doyle, Ann Byrne, Emer Cahill, Eleanor Neville, Elaine McCabe, Rachel Bennett, Maeve Quill, Fiona Rowe, Ciara Walsh, Maria Byrne, Ciara Corrigan, Lorraine Breen.
Tipperary: Lauren Fitzpatrick; Bríd Condon, Siobhán Condon, Elaine Kelly; Maria Curley, Samantha Lambert (capt.), Emma Buckley; Jennifer Grant, Aisling Moloney (0-4, 1 free); Gillian O’Brien, Elaine Fitzpatrick, Orla O’Dwyer; Mairéad Morrissey (0-1), Aisling McCarthy (0-7, 5 frees), Caoimhe Condon. Subs. - Niamh Lonergan for Kelly (38), Catríona Walsh for E. Fitzpatrick (53), Eimear Myles for O’Dwyer (55).
Referee: John Niland (Sligo).