Enniscorthy Ladies first team continued their winning streak on Friday night with a 3-0 victory over Kilkenny II, following on from their thrilling victory over Gorey last Sunday.
Enniscorthy looked nervous and cagey for the opening fifteen minutes with Kilkenny the more confident on the ball. Despite this anxiety among the Enniscorthy players, midway through the first half pressure on the Kilkenny defence- with midfielders Gemma Kelly and Deirdre Kehoe combining with forwards Lisa Frayne and Sonja Rynhart- was rewarded with Enniscorthy’s first short corner of the game. A short, quick pass from Molly Boyne to captain Lisa Frayne on the side of the semi-circle resulted in a powerful shot from Frayne hitting the backboard giving Enniscorthy the lead. The cathedral town side continued to press the Kilkenny defence, but the visitors were dangerous on the break, piling pressure on the Enniscorthy defence, but the line held.
After some much needed advice and inspirational words at half time from coach Ivanna Yeats, manager Irene Doyle and captain Lisa Frayne, Enniscorthy returned to the fray with a new sense of determination. However, Kilkenny were not giving in easily and early in the new half a swift counter-attack caught Enniscorthy with numbers high up the pitch and goalie Fiona Rothwell- in her debut season with the club- was left in a one on one with the Kilkenny striker, but a massive diving save from Rothwell kept the Cats at bay.
Enniscorthy had some near misses in the second half; a long sideline ball in by Leah Chapman was narrowly missed by Laura O'Leary, while Serena Hatton carried a great ball into the Kilkenny semi-circle but was unable to execute the shot. Eventually, though, the pressure told. Enniscorthy’s second goal came from a reverse stick dive from Sonja Rynhart, who was unlucky not to have a second goal minutes later, when the left wing took a powerful strike on goal but the Kilkenny goalkeeper made her presence felt and blocked the shot.
Shortly after, though, Rynhart added a second goal to her personal tally when she fired home following a highly accurate pass from midfielder Gemma Kelly. Enniscorthy continued to press, in search of a fourth, but could not make the most of the short corner that came late in the second half, Molly Boyne again passing the ball to the dangerous Rynhart who was unable to finish past the Kilkenny goalkeeper.
Enniscorthy Ladies: Fiona Rothwell, Molly Boyne, Katie Owen, Leah Chapman, Olive Lett, Serena Hatton, Laura O’Leary, Gemma Kelly, Deirdre Kehoe, Sonja Rynhart, Lisa Frayne, Emma Doyle, Nancy Dunphy, Lisa Tyghe, Karri Clifford
Enniscorthy looked nervous and cagey for the opening fifteen minutes with Kilkenny the more confident on the ball. Despite this anxiety among the Enniscorthy players, midway through the first half pressure on the Kilkenny defence- with midfielders Gemma Kelly and Deirdre Kehoe combining with forwards Lisa Frayne and Sonja Rynhart- was rewarded with Enniscorthy’s first short corner of the game. A short, quick pass from Molly Boyne to captain Lisa Frayne on the side of the semi-circle resulted in a powerful shot from Frayne hitting the backboard giving Enniscorthy the lead. The cathedral town side continued to press the Kilkenny defence, but the visitors were dangerous on the break, piling pressure on the Enniscorthy defence, but the line held.
After some much needed advice and inspirational words at half time from coach Ivanna Yeats, manager Irene Doyle and captain Lisa Frayne, Enniscorthy returned to the fray with a new sense of determination. However, Kilkenny were not giving in easily and early in the new half a swift counter-attack caught Enniscorthy with numbers high up the pitch and goalie Fiona Rothwell- in her debut season with the club- was left in a one on one with the Kilkenny striker, but a massive diving save from Rothwell kept the Cats at bay.
Enniscorthy had some near misses in the second half; a long sideline ball in by Leah Chapman was narrowly missed by Laura O'Leary, while Serena Hatton carried a great ball into the Kilkenny semi-circle but was unable to execute the shot. Eventually, though, the pressure told. Enniscorthy’s second goal came from a reverse stick dive from Sonja Rynhart, who was unlucky not to have a second goal minutes later, when the left wing took a powerful strike on goal but the Kilkenny goalkeeper made her presence felt and blocked the shot.
Shortly after, though, Rynhart added a second goal to her personal tally when she fired home following a highly accurate pass from midfielder Gemma Kelly. Enniscorthy continued to press, in search of a fourth, but could not make the most of the short corner that came late in the second half, Molly Boyne again passing the ball to the dangerous Rynhart who was unable to finish past the Kilkenny goalkeeper.
Enniscorthy Ladies: Fiona Rothwell, Molly Boyne, Katie Owen, Leah Chapman, Olive Lett, Serena Hatton, Laura O’Leary, Gemma Kelly, Deirdre Kehoe, Sonja Rynhart, Lisa Frayne, Emma Doyle, Nancy Dunphy, Lisa Tyghe, Karri Clifford
