Wicklow beat Antrim in Division 3B

Wicklow beat Antrim in Division 3B

SUZUKI
LADIES NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE 2006 ANTRIM 2-5
WICKLOW 4-10

Wicklow’s senior ladies football team travelled
up to Termonfeckin in County Louth to take on Antrim
in the Suzuki Ladies NFL Division 3B second round.
Not knowing what to expect the Wicklow management
team lined out a strong experienced team to face
the girls from the Glens of Antrim.

The Wicklow girls playing with the wind piled on
the pressure in the first half, and went in at the
break 3-6 to Antrims 0-2 points. Antrim were caught
cold in the first half, but they started the second
half with all guns blazing, reducing Wicklow’s lead
to just three points by the end of the third quarter.
However despite being reduced to fourteen players
in the twenty third minute of the second half the
Garden County girls turned up the heat, to run out
convincing winners with eleven points to spare at
full time.

Despite the long journey up the country the Wicklow
girls were quick to settle in to the game with Sinead
Boland firing over in the second minute after receiving
an accurate pass from Edel Kennedy. Kennedy followed
up with goal two minutes later when her long lobbing
shot dropped in under the Antrim cross bar, from
the kick out, Wicklow’s number 13 Elaine Murphy
latched on to a pass from Maura Reid and rifled
her shot past Antrim’s captain and keeper Maoloisa
Hardy. While Wicklow’s Sharp shooter Chrissie Shortt
converted four frees in succession before the first
quarter was up.

The Wicklow girls dominated play in the first half
of the game, with hard work and excellent distribution
of the ball in to the forwards by Eadaoine Lenihan,
Maura Reid, Caoilfhionn Deeney, Julie Fitzmaurice
and Niamh Carroll, Antrim’s Aisling Reilly got a
point in the sixteenth minute to register their
first score of the half, however a minute later
Reid and Murphy combined for the second time for
Wicklow to cancel out the saffron girls score to
keep their ten point lead intact. The pressure being
applied by the Wicklow forwards paid off in the
twenty fifth,Edel Kennedy pounced on a loose pass
by Antrim’s number four Roisin Mc Veigh, Kennedy
made no mistakes rattling the Antrim net with her
unstoppable shot. Antrim doubled their first half
score in injury time with a point from Kelly McCoy
that curled in off the post.

It’s a well known fact that teams from the North
of the country are tough and don’t give in that
easy, the Antrim girls were out early for the second
half and they threw down the gauntlet to the Wicklow
girls in the third quarter, Playing with the breeze,
Antrim had pared back Wicklow’s lead to just three
points with two goals and a point from Aisling Reilly,
while Claire Timoney tagged on a brace of points
with fifteen minutes left on the clock. Although
Wicklow were under pressure at this stage of the
game, they were always in control, their Captain
and keeper Emer Miley ensured that her defensive
back line of Aoife Heffernan, Aishling O’hAnnaidh,
Niamh Ryan, along with Lisa Brady and Marie Kavanagh
never panicked even when the Wicklow team were reduced
to fourteen players for the last nine minutes, they
continued to frustrated the Antrim forward line
with excellent blocks and clearances.

Wicklow’s Edel Kennedy got the garden county back
on track when she fired in a low forty five metre
free that was turned in to the back of the Antrim
net by Wicklow’ goal poacher supreme Sinead Boland,
with nine minutes left on the clock Wicklow continued
to press, finishing the game off with a point from
their top scorer on the day Edel Kennedy and the
final score came when Chrissie Shortt was brought
down by Cailin Weir on the twenty metre line, Shortt
converted the free herself to bring her scoring
tally to five accurate points, all from frees. Wicklow’s
next match in the NFL will be away to WestMeath,
both sides have met three times over the past couple
of seasons, most recently in last years NFL div.
Four final, Wicklow were triumphant on that occasions,
however the Westmeath side can not be taken lightly
and Wicklow will be taking the game very serious
this time round also.

WICKLOW PANEL: Emer Miley(Capt.Blessington).
Aoife Heffernan (Bray Emmets). Aisling O’ hAnnaidh,(Bray
Emmets). Niamh Ryan (Bray Emmets). Lisa Brady (Bray
Emmets). Marie Kavanagh (Blessington). Maura Reid
(Blessington). Julie Fitzmaurice (Blessington).
Caoilfhionn Deeney (Eire Og). Edel Kennedy (Carnew
Emmets 2-2).Eadaoine Lenihan (Bray Emmets) Elaine
Murphy (Blessington 1-2). Niamh Carroll (Blessington
). Chrissie Shortt (An Tochar 0-5f). Sinead Boland
(Bray Emmets 1-1 ) .
Subs: Niamh Coleman ( Bray Emmets) for Caoilfhionn
Deeney. Monica Lynch (Newtown) for Eadaoine Lenihan.
Referee: Michael Henry ( Cavan ).

Michael Forde. 10 Lamberton Heights Arklow. Co Wicklow.
PRO Wicklow ladies football. 0402-39457 087-6422658.
E-Mail wicklowladiesfootball@eircom.net