U-15 work pays off
Wexford get result to match display
WEXFORD FINALLY got the result their performance deserved, beating hosts Limerick in Group 3 of the SSE Airtricity Under-15 League recently.
It was a first victory of the season for Mark Doran’s side and, given the way they are quickly finding form, it will be no surprise if several more follow in quick succession.
This team had been threatening this result in recent weeks. Wexford picked up moral victories but no points against Cork and Galway in their previous two games, but they were determined to make their strong performance count on their trip west. They did just that.
This win was based on an allround squad effort. It wasn’t about the eleven starters, it was about the roll-on, roll-off substitutions giving fresh legs but keeping the quality and intensity levels high throughout the 80 minutes.
Limerick had plenty of the ball but the visiting three-man defence was exceptional in preventing clear opportunities. Seán Redmond and Darragh McGuire were excellent in defence but Dylan Casey was an absolute colossus.
Wexford could, probably should, have had a goal in the 15th minute. The superb Liam Doyle hit a shot that cannoned off the underside of the crossbar and bounced down. It seemed to cross the line before spinning out but the match officials didn’t give it.
When luck is going against you, those situations can really sting. Wexford didn’t let it upset them, as they kept probing and took a deserved lead eleven minutes later when Patryk Remiasz fired a cracking shot from the right edge of the area that flew into the top left corner of Ryan Manning’s net.
With Wexford pressing hard from the front, Limerick were struggling to settle. The workrate of the visitors was through the roof and they were fully deserving of their interval lead.
Evan Farrell had a chance to add to his side’s advantage in the second-half but he fired over the crossbar.
At the other end, just seconds after coming off the bench, Eoin Murphy somehow got down low to fingertip away what looked to be a certain Limerick goal. Despite their possession, that was as close as they came to an equaliser as the visitors nabbed the spoils.
The win moved Wexford to seventh place in the table. It’s a closely-matched set of teams in Group 3, so much so that had the Ferrycarrig Park side scored the late goal in the opening game against Waterford, rather than their hosts, they would have been sitting in joint-second spot after this win.
Wexford: Aaron Phelan; Seán Redmond, Darragh McGuire, Dylan Casey; Seán Adam Gourley, Patryk Remiasz, Evan Farrell (capt.), Rian Fitzpatrick, Paddy Redmond; Micheál Quinlan, Liam Doyle. Subs. (rolling) - Harry Curtis, Conor Carew, Eoin Murphy, Luke O’Rourke, Dylan McEvoy, Luke Murphy.
Limerick: Ryan Manning, Riain O’Connell, Jack Prendergast, Michael Corcoran (capt.), Andri Haxhiaj, Adam Brennan, Conor Keane, Wassiou Ayawe, Toby Lambe, Denis Dluha, Josh Quinlivan. Subs. (rolling) - James Griffin, Gerard Quaid, Joey Rushe, Oisín Enright, Josh Toomey, Jake O’Riordan.
Referee: Andrew Hall.