Enniscorthy ladies XI were in action against Wexford ladies XI on Sunday morning. The reverse of this fixture earlier in the season finished with a 1-0 victory to the girls in green. From the start Wexford picked up from where they had left off in the previous encounter by putting pressure on the Enniscorthy defence. This resulted in an early short corner which provided the opening goal, a thundering shot giving Fiona Rothwell no chance in the Enniscorthy net. Over the next ten minutes Wexford won two more short corners which failed to trouble the Enniscorthy defence. After this the cathedral town side kicked into action with Anna Flood starting to link well with Sonja Rynhart in midfield. It was now Enniscorthy who began to boss proceedings with Nancy Dunphy winning the first attacking short corner. Rynhart’s strike at goal met a Wexford foot; the resulting short lead to a third in a row after an infringement in the goalmouth by a Wexford defender. No mistake was made with the third attempt as Nancy Dunphy fluently cracked the ball off the Wexford backboard from the top left of the semi circle. Wexford kicked on again and Molly Boyne along with an impressive Olive Lett had to be alert to keep Wexford at bay. Boyne made a solid clearance to Sonja Rynhart who made a run to the circle where she won a short corner. Anna Flood got a quick, strong shot away from the resulting corner but Wexford dealt well with it. Róisín O’Muirí, on her debut with the 1sts, made an outstanding effort to hold off the keen Wexford attackers clearing the ball out wide to link with Nancy Dunphy. The latter- playing extremely well in a more forward role than usual- was finding some space on the right which lead to Leah Chapman getting a strike on goal which was saved by the Wexford keeper. At half time it was honours even at one each.
Before action resumed the umpires pulled in both captains to discuss discipline as events threatened to boil over on more than one occasion in the first half. Wexford started the second half strong and had an early short corner which proved fruitless. Not long into the second half, a clash of heads during a strong tackle, unfortunately saw another Enniscorthy debutant- Laura Redmond- out of action for the remainder of the game. Aine O’Brien, also on her debut with the 1sts, had a number of key and skilful interventions at this stage to aid her defence, along with Molly Boyne and Katie Owens' excellent efforts on the back line. Two more short corners were earned by Wexford, the second of which was beautifully cleared by Ruth Harrington. Chapman was now beginning to pick up loose ball in the centre of the field and linked well with Sonja Rynhart who was unfortunate to not have secured a goal. It was shortly after when Rynhart picked up the ball on half way and headed towards goal, rounding the last defender she struck her shot while at the same time receiving a cynical push in the back which left the umpire with no option but to award a penalty corner. A war of words then erupted which resulted in a green card for a Wexford defender. The resulting short lead to a second short which Wexford dealt with. Wexford won a final short near the stroke of full time but yet again no goal was produced. The game finished 1-1 which is an extremely encouraging and well deserved result for the Cathedral town girls.
Before action resumed the umpires pulled in both captains to discuss discipline as events threatened to boil over on more than one occasion in the first half. Wexford started the second half strong and had an early short corner which proved fruitless. Not long into the second half, a clash of heads during a strong tackle, unfortunately saw another Enniscorthy debutant- Laura Redmond- out of action for the remainder of the game. Aine O’Brien, also on her debut with the 1sts, had a number of key and skilful interventions at this stage to aid her defence, along with Molly Boyne and Katie Owens' excellent efforts on the back line. Two more short corners were earned by Wexford, the second of which was beautifully cleared by Ruth Harrington. Chapman was now beginning to pick up loose ball in the centre of the field and linked well with Sonja Rynhart who was unfortunate to not have secured a goal. It was shortly after when Rynhart picked up the ball on half way and headed towards goal, rounding the last defender she struck her shot while at the same time receiving a cynical push in the back which left the umpire with no option but to award a penalty corner. A war of words then erupted which resulted in a green card for a Wexford defender. The resulting short lead to a second short which Wexford dealt with. Wexford won a final short near the stroke of full time but yet again no goal was produced. The game finished 1-1 which is an extremely encouraging and well deserved result for the Cathedral town girls.
