Cavan V Wexford match report

Wexford
3-18 Cavan 2-08

Cavan and Wexford ladies made the journey to Clan
na Gael in Dublin on Sunday last for their first
game of the new year in the Suzuki ladies National
football league. Cavan captain Grainne Smith opened
the scoring in the 2nd minute when she broke through
the Wexford defense for a well taken point. Wexford
replied straight away with two points from Meave
Quill and Thresa Walsh. Cavan Goal keeper Karen
Fay made a terrific save in the 8th minute before
Aisling Doonan leveled matters with a long range
point in the 10th minute. Wexford scored their
first goal of the game when midfielder Micheal
Hearne soloed through to fire a rocket of a shot
to the Cavan net. From the kick-out Cavan worked
the ball up the field to Grainne Smith who led
it off to Aisling Doonan and the Cavan forward
slotted it in to the back of the net. It was at
this stage of the game that Wexford moved up a
gear.

For the rest of the half they gained the upper
hand in several key positions and this produced
a number of attacks yielding points from Leona
Hector, Lizzy Kent, and a brilliant goal from
corner forward Caroline Murphy. Wexford were dominating
the midfield area with Micheal Hearne and Mary
lucey and just before half time Leona Hector added
a third goal for Wexford when she accepted a pass
from Meave Quill to give them a big lead of 3-08
to 1-04. Cavan manager Raphael Rodgers introduced
Bronagh Sheridan, Miranda Crowe and Paula Fitzpatrick
after the break but still Wexford kept attacking.
Points from Theresa Walsh, Mary Lucey, Leona Hector
and Caroline Murphy added to the Wexford tally
as they stretched their lead even further. The
inclement weather conditions did nothing to help
both teams as they tried hard to close down the
opposition’s attacks. Cavan playing with a lot
more composure than the first half managed to
score 1-4 in the final ten minutes, the goal coming
from Emma Clarke. However the final whistle came
just as Cavan began to show some positive football.
The most telling factor of the game was Wexfords
superior fitness for this time of year.

Pat Quill will be happy to get his second win
of the league and should be happy with the teams
work rate and Cavan may not have been as fit but
their lack of composure and passing skills led
to a lot of pressure for the Cavan defense. Wexford
gave a star team performance with Micheal Hearne
and Mary Lucey outstanding in the middle of the
field. The half forward line of Hector, Kent and
Walsh were a thorn in the Cavan defense throughout
the hour and if they weren’t scoring then they
were setting up the attacks. Up front Meave Quill
played well whilst Caroline Murphy pounced on
goal when the opportunity arose. Cavan were served
well by goalkeeper Carina Fay who made some brilliant
saves over the hour. Bronagh Sheridan made a small
impact when introduced whilst Grainne Smith, Aisling
Doonan and Emma Clarke all tried hard.

Wexford: N Scully, L Corrigan, L O’Grady,
C O’Brian, M Doyle, N Scullen, H Nugent, M Hearne,
M Lucey, L Kent, L Hector, J Walshe, J Dwyer,
M Quill, C Murphy Subs: S Kearnes, M Hanley, C
Scullen, L Casey, C Quill
Cavan: C Fay, A Hanratty, L Hanratty, S
O’Keefe, P Lynch, J McNally, M Smith, E Cronyn,
C Reilly, G Smith, E Galligan, P Crowe, E Clarke,
A Doonan, C Farrell. Subs; B Sheridan, M Crowe,
P Fitzpatrick, R Crowe, S Cassidy