Under-18s lose in Cork
WEXFORD BOWED out of this season’s Youth Inter-League Cup following defeat away to the Cork Youth League in a bitterly cold Ringmahon Park on Saturday.
The opening half was a very scrappy affair with very few chances created. The first shot of note came on 23 minutes as Cork’s Ross Slevin seized on a Wexford mistake to flash a drive just over from 20 yards.
Cork went in front after 34 minutes when a weak back pass saw Slevin finish from six yards. Wexford tried to get back on terms with a free-kick from Todd Hynes, and a drive from Ethan Vickers that was safely gathered.
Cork started the second-half strongly, with Wexford goalkeeper Rhys Doyle pulling off fine saves from Cork’s Jack Waters and Liam Ross in quick succession, and shortly after Wexford had a let-off as Ross Slevin rounded the goalkeeper but Ryan Furlong got back to clear his shot off the line.
Wexford then had a few chances, with Dylan O’Brien seeing his close-range effort blocked and then having a goal ruled out for offside. They then suffered a setback when a player was dismissed for a second yellow card.
Cork took full advantage, increasing their lead on 70 minutes as Jack Waters got on the end of a cross to fire home. Three minutes later Cork’s Liam Ross got on a through ball to put Cork three up.
Wexford got back into the game on 75 minutes following a corner-kick and a goalmouth scramble, with Liam Evans forcing the ball home from close range. Cork went back onto the attack with the Wexford ’keeper doing well to pull off a double save.
Six minutes from the end Wexford scored their second as Niall Connolly worked an opening and finished into the corner of the net. With Wexford pushing everyone forward hoping to force an equaliser that would have seen them progress, they were caught with a quick break, with Cork’s Ethan Varian lashing home a left-footed shot from 20 yards.
Wexford kept trying and Leon Nolan-Cullen saw his header strike the crossbar in injury time.
This result saw Cork top the group with Waterford coming through as runners-up. Wexford played some great football in the group, but basic mistakes in their games saw them failing to progress to the knockout stages.
CORK:
Callum Finnegan, Adam Bruton, Dean McCarthy, Jack McFall, Ben Healy, Cathal Crowley, Jack Waters, Marco Crowley, Liam Ross (capt.), Ethan Varian, Ross Slevin. Subs. - Glenn Sexton, Robin Ward, Stephen Darcy, Alex Keating, Niall O’Leary, Seán Varian, Darragh Newman.
WEXFORD:
Rhys Doyle, Ryan Furlong, Todd Hynes, Nathan O’Connor, Paudie Casey, Dylan O’Brien, Stephen Kearns, Ethan Vickers, Kieran Murphy, Liam O’Connor, Kevin Kenny. Subs. - Brandon Sinnott, Liam Evans, Niall Connolly, Cian Cowman, Ciarán Carty, Leon Nolan-Cullen, Joshua Burke.