Wexford 0-13 Dublin 1-7
What
a 48 hours for Dublin senior camogie!
A wonderful win on Saturday and a performance on Bank Holiday Monday against
a county that has won 3 of the last 5 All-Ireland titles that at least ranks
with the victory over Clare in terms of importance, ability to compete and will
to win.
Was
the 48 hours turnaround the difference?
It is very difficult to say.
Certainly no hurling or football team would be asked to play so
soon.
But there are ample examples of
camogie/ladies football players having to even play on the same day.
Not that the latter is acceptable
either.
But as many coaches and managers
are prone to say the six most important inches are from the neck up and
Dublin’s mental state was perfect going into this game.
The
side was still riding the surf of the emotional and thrilling win over
Clare.
The mental state was perfect and
the team had no time to dwell on the pros and cons of playing a side that has
set the benchmark for camogie nationwide over the past 6 or 7
years.
A team that has already beaten
last year’s Champions Cork in this year’s series.
Wexford
had a two weeks layoff since their last Championship match but as the game
entered the 61
st
minute it was the Slaneysiders who were holding on
for dear life as Dublin went in search of an equaliser.
Not
for the first time it took the brilliance of Kate Kelly to rescue her side with
a
a great score in the 62
nd
minute.
The final point came from a
sideline ball mix up that set up Shelley Kehoe to give Wexford a slightly
flattering 3 points win.
This
performance on the back of three wins by Wexford over Dublin in 2014 -
-
All-Ireland
Championship
Wexford 5-19
Dublin 0-13
-
Leinster
Championship
Wexford 4-21 Dublin 0-4
-
National
League
Wexford 3-11 Dublin 0-5
In
three games Wexford scored an average of four goals against Dublin.
On this occasion they couldn’t manage even
one and never tested Síle nic Coitir in the game.
That
transformation is down to the huge work and commitment invested by team and
management and just goes to show that nothing is impossible.
Mention
was made in the report on the Clare game of the Munster side’s tactical ploy of
playing with the aid of a sweeper.
Wexford showed their fear of Dublin by employing a similar tactic.
The experienced Mary Leacy was assigned
the task and she performed her defensive duties superbly.
A statistic that Dublin will be disappointed
with is that the side only scored once from play – a great point by Laoise
Quinn after 41 minutes but the inside full-forward line that contributed six
points from play against Clare could not get on the score sheet.
That
was not for want of effort but the shield of Mary Leacy in front of the inside
three cut off the supply lines and Dublin’s full-forward line could never get
sufficient possession to test the Wexford full back line.
On the rare occasions that it happened they
were up to the task – a wonderful piece of aerial skill by full back Siona
Nolan stopped the ball drifting overhead to the inrunning Siobhan Kehoe in the
first half and 6 minutes after the restart Karen Atkinson got a stick to a
batted ball from Aisling Maher that seemed on its way to the net.
A
crowd of nearly 800 people (four times the expected number) turned up on a
beautiful if blustery day at Netwatch Cullen Park.
A tentative Dublin were slow to start.
Wexford had three points from play on the
board inside six minutes thanks to Shelley Kehoe, Karina Parrock and Una
Sinnott.
The last two were the result of
defensive indecision as Dublin adjusted to the pace of the game.
Three points that would eventually separate
the sides.
For
the next 56 minutes of playing time there would only be five more scores from
play.
Not the fault of the players as
the game took on a “stop start” pattern due to the refereeing style of Alan
Lagrue who awarded 45 frees and issued 7 yellow cards in a game that was fairly
contested at all times.
This cannot
be offered as an excuse albeit that a more blatant foul on Aisling Maher from a
Dublin puck out as the game entered added time was not spotted.
Dublin were subsequently awarded a dubious
free from over 65m for the leveller but the previous foul was in a much better
position to land a score.
Wexford will
legitimately argue that the free count worked against them also – the bottom
line is that no game played in the spirit in which this game was played should
have a free every minute and a half.
While
camogie teams are beginning to experiment with the sweeper system, its main
purpose would seem to be to cut down scores.
Not once in this game were the puck-outs directed at the “spare”
player.
A natural inclination not to
take too many risks but it will be interesting to see how this evolves over the
coming years.
Trailing
by
three points as the 10
th
minute approached, Dublin earned a free for a foul on Áine Fanning which Alison
Maguire converted.
But Kate Kelly
continued to exert her influence and from frees and play was building her
tally.
An indication of her influence
can be found from the fact that from the 6
th
minute to the 62
nd
minute only one other Wexford player got on the scorecard – Lisa Bolger in the
19
th
minute.
Great
work by Sarah O’Donovan saw her briefly threaten to work her way into a goal
scoring position but the advantage didn’t accrue and Alison Maguire pointed the
free.
Alison
added another in the 26
th
minute following a foul on the
hard-working Martha O’Donoghue.
Dublin
sensed that they were very much in this game.
With the aid of the breeze to come they pushed forward with more energy
and created three scoring chances in as many minutes before half-time.
The first from Aisling Maher after a great
clearance by Rose Collins and two frees from over 55m from Alison Maguire –
however each slipped wide.
Not easy
chances but one or two scores before half time would have been a great reward
for the efforts of the likes of Miriam Twomey at midfield, sister Laura who
made two wonderful blocks in succession just before the break and the excellent
covering of Aisling Carolan.
Dublin
trailed 0-7 to 0-3 at the break but one sensed that this game was far from
over.
Orlaith
Durkan joined the battle for the second half with Laura Twomey as her midfield
partner and Miriam at wing back.
But
Kate Kelly still dominated.
Another
pointed free stretched Wexford’s lead to five and when she fired over her
second point from play in the 42
nd
minute, Wexford had built a six
points lead.
Deirdre
Johnstone (pulled off a fantastic catch late in the game) and Emma Flanagan had come on for Dublin who continued to fight defiantly
but scores were difficult to come by.
Eventually the great warrior Louise O’Hara set up Laoise Quinn and she
clipped a lovely point from 40m.
As
the second game began to tell on the legs of Alison Maguire, Aisling Maher took
over the free-taking duties and in 46
th
and 48
th
minutes
nailed two super points from very difficult angles.
The Dublin fans were in full voice now as
Claire Rigney came on the field for her first championship action of the
season.
She played excellently.
A
fearless Orlaith Durkan went full-blooded for a ball with her hurley
outstretched and collided with the equally committed Wexford forward.
Strangely it ended in a free for Wexford and
a Kate Kelly point.
Stung
by the decision Sarah O’Donovan pulled the puck-out from the clouds and sent
Aisling Maher on her way.
Another free
ensued that was dispatched between the posts this time by Louise O’Hara with 8
minutes left on the clock.
Time
was not on Dublin’s side and when another free was awarded to Dublin on the 20m
four minutes later, there was no alternative but to go for the three
pointer.
Louise O’Hara’s shot was low
and straight and hit the net to loud acclaim from the “Dublin Roar”.
Aoife Bugler came on in the midst of this
dramatic finale as for the first time Kate Kelly erred from a free.
As Síle nic Coitir’s puck out was heading
down the wing, Aisling Maher was grounded but the referee may well have been
unsighted.
But
great players come to the fore when they are needed most and Kate Kelly stepped
up two minutes later to deliver the coup de grace before Shelley Kehoe finished
the game as she started it with a fine point.
Huge
disappointment for Dublin but defeat with honour.
Massive steps have been taken and many
valuable lessons have been learned by players and management.
The team has shown that it can compete at the
top level and one gets the feeling that this squad can’t wait for next season.
The side
has a settled look about it. There are players on the bench on any given day
who can make a difference, there is an absence of “mé feinism” and all are
willing to do what it takes.
Thanks
to recent events, a much wider public support base has been grown and one
cannot underestimate the value of supporters.
Can you imagine if the Dublin hurlers or footballers played in front of
a few hundred supporters – what kind of performance would that encourage?
It will take time to build attendances to
the levels of the GAA. But camogie folk are realistic.
For the moment attendances of the scale now
enjoyed and growing would be a massive start.
The
Dublin GAA County Board, AIG, We are Dublin, Bus Éireann, Webtrade and
especially the Friends of Dublin Hurling have been wonderful supporters and we
thank them sincerely.
Team
1.
Síle Nic Coitir
2.
Catríona Power
3.
Rose Collins
4.
Aisling Carolan
5.
Elaine O’ Meara
6.
Alison Maguire (0-3)
7.
Laura Twomey
8.
Miriam Twomey
9.
Martha O’Donoghue
10.
Laoise Quinn (0-1)
11.
Sarah O’ Donovan
12.
Louise O’Hara (1-1)
13.
Aisling Maher (0-2)
14.
Áine Fanning
15.
Siobhán Kehoe
Substitutes:
Orlaith
Durkan, Emma Flanagan, Claire Rigney, Deirdre Johnstone, Aoife Bugler
Other Panellists:
Ali Twomey,
Gráinne Quinn, Helen Cosgrave, Jane Tully, Kate Whyte, Leah Butler,
Mairi Moynihan, Rachel Noctor, Rebecca Doherty, Síofra Walsh
Wexford
scorers: Kate Kelly (0-8), Shelley
Kehoe (0-2), Karina Parrock, Lisa Bolger and Una Sinnott (0-1 each).
Referee:
Alan Lagrue