Enniscorthy's men's seconds poor form at home continued on Saturday as they fell 1-0 to a talented Clontarf side in the Leinster Minor Cup.
Fraser Rothwell's side come into the clash on the back of an encouraging 3-2 win away to Navan, but the visitors were in a different class to the Meath side. From the onset, Clontarf played a high-tempo game which had the Enniscorthy back four of Hawkins, Jordan, Pierce and Ivan Rothwell under considerable pressure. Clontarf featured several of the side which had drawn 2-2 with Enniscorthy's first team a fortnight ago, and their verve and invention shone throughout. This only got them so far, however, as Jordan and Pierce swept up a huge amount of ball at the back. The Wexford men were also noticeably quicker at clearing the ball from their semi-circle, but this was offset by the concession of a large number of short corners. Attacking opportunities were at a premium for the hosts, who relied on long balls to connect with the forwards, and Clontarf were adept at hoovering up these. Enniscorthy's best attacking move of the half was rewarded with the awarding of a short corner following excellent work by Robbie Walshe, but this did not meet with success.
The Wexford side made a much brighter start to the second half, and the match became a much more open contest, with Smith driving forward from midfield and connecting well with Walshe. This period of equilibrium lasted up to around the 50th minute, and Clontarf then began to wrestle back momentum. John Murphy was in inspirational form in goal, while a succession of Clontarf short corners were correctly read by his defence, and Greg Hawkins made tackle after tackle, breaking up waves of opposition attacks.
It was, though, from a short corner that Clontarf got the lead, the ball squeezed past the onrushing Costello and Ivan Rothwell and into the bottom right corner past the desparing dive of Murphy. Enniscorthy's heads did drop temporarily, and Clontarf smelt blood. Despite this, the home side battled hard, though they missed the intelligent play of Jordan, who was forced off shortly before Clontarf's goal through injury. Nick Peare, switched to the right after a time up front on the left, put in some good work moving forward; the overall team effort, though, was hampered as the Wexford men ran out of steam in the final ten minutes. Clontarf, so deservedly march on in the cup, while Enniscorthy's attentions return to the league and the visit of Wicklow on Saturday.
Squad: John Murphy; Robbie Walshe; Greg Hawkins; Kieran Costello; PJ Pierce; Ivan Rothwell; Nick Peare; Rory Maguire; Alan Smith; Conor Tull; Jack Redmond; Mick Jordan; William Durnan.
Fraser Rothwell's side come into the clash on the back of an encouraging 3-2 win away to Navan, but the visitors were in a different class to the Meath side. From the onset, Clontarf played a high-tempo game which had the Enniscorthy back four of Hawkins, Jordan, Pierce and Ivan Rothwell under considerable pressure. Clontarf featured several of the side which had drawn 2-2 with Enniscorthy's first team a fortnight ago, and their verve and invention shone throughout. This only got them so far, however, as Jordan and Pierce swept up a huge amount of ball at the back. The Wexford men were also noticeably quicker at clearing the ball from their semi-circle, but this was offset by the concession of a large number of short corners. Attacking opportunities were at a premium for the hosts, who relied on long balls to connect with the forwards, and Clontarf were adept at hoovering up these. Enniscorthy's best attacking move of the half was rewarded with the awarding of a short corner following excellent work by Robbie Walshe, but this did not meet with success.
The Wexford side made a much brighter start to the second half, and the match became a much more open contest, with Smith driving forward from midfield and connecting well with Walshe. This period of equilibrium lasted up to around the 50th minute, and Clontarf then began to wrestle back momentum. John Murphy was in inspirational form in goal, while a succession of Clontarf short corners were correctly read by his defence, and Greg Hawkins made tackle after tackle, breaking up waves of opposition attacks.
It was, though, from a short corner that Clontarf got the lead, the ball squeezed past the onrushing Costello and Ivan Rothwell and into the bottom right corner past the desparing dive of Murphy. Enniscorthy's heads did drop temporarily, and Clontarf smelt blood. Despite this, the home side battled hard, though they missed the intelligent play of Jordan, who was forced off shortly before Clontarf's goal through injury. Nick Peare, switched to the right after a time up front on the left, put in some good work moving forward; the overall team effort, though, was hampered as the Wexford men ran out of steam in the final ten minutes. Clontarf, so deservedly march on in the cup, while Enniscorthy's attentions return to the league and the visit of Wicklow on Saturday.
Squad: John Murphy; Robbie Walshe; Greg Hawkins; Kieran Costello; PJ Pierce; Ivan Rothwell; Nick Peare; Rory Maguire; Alan Smith; Conor Tull; Jack Redmond; Mick Jordan; William Durnan.
