WYW v Shelbourne LFC

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For anyone interested, it's planned to have audio commentary on tonight's vital WNL match at the usual link (k.o. 7 pm).

www.mixlr.com/wexfordyouths

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Narrow but deserved win by Shelbourne in a very cold Morton Stadium last night as WYW put in a much stronger performance than in the recent Cup Final. Bolstered by the return of Kylie Murphy and especially Lauren Dwyer (it was fantastic to see the return of the latter player), Gary Hunt had a much more compact unit available to him and went with Sophie, Nicola, Jess, Lolly, Lauren, Linda, Emma, Kylie, Aisling and Aoibhin playing behind Claire up front. First half had relatively few chances as Wexford concentrated on keeping quiet the unmatchable Shelbourne front three of Siobhan Killeen, Gloria Douglas and Leanne Kiernan. On seven minutes, Noelle Murray had a free-kick close in for Shels, but it proved an easy catch for an excellent Sophie Lenehan in the Wexford goal. On ten minutes, Claire O'Riordan got a yellow for clattering into a Shelbourne defender. Shelbourne's best chance came on 20 minutes when a ball broke to Gloria Douglas inside the WYW box, and she rattled a shot off the crossbar before Alex Kavanagh smacked the rebound a foot over the bar. Noelle Murray of Shels then pulled a shot a yard wide of the post before Wexford's only real chance of the half fell to Aisling Frawley when she found herself with the ball at her feet inside the Shels penalty area, but her low shot was blocked away by Amanda McQuillan in the Shels goal. Just before half-time, Jess Gleeson went off after she seemed to get a kick from a team-mate, but returned hobbling shortly afterwards, and Emma Hansberry got a yellow for a tackle. 0-0 at half-time.

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Second half began in similar fashion with neither side really threatening, before referee Paula Brady showed the influential Shels captain, Pearl Slattery, firstly a yellow after she bumped into Kylie Murphy and then a straight red for what was presumably dissent. Good news for Wexford, of course, but possibly very harsh if you're looking at the game dispassionately. However, Shelbourne showed their class by still looking the team more likely to score even after dropping to ten players. On 14 minutes, WYW had another rare chance when Claire O'Riordan was just unable to connect with a good cross from Kylie Murphy. Chelsee Snell then came on for a limping Lauren Dwyer of Wexford, when on 18 minutes, Wexford gave Leanne Kiernan too much space in their penalty area and she turned and shot low into the left-hand corner for 1-0 to the home side. With 20 minutes to go, Shels had another goal-bound effort cleared off the Wexford line. Maria Delahunty and Amy Walsh then came on as Wexford subs, as Jess Gleeson came closest to securing a draw for Wexford when she volleyed over a good free from Emma Hansberry. With a minute to go of normal time, Claire O'Riordan hit a difficult first-time volley a yard or two wide and Shels were safely home with a massive step taken to secure the return of the WNL title on a 1-0 scoreline.

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Best for Wexford on the night were Sophie Lenehan in goal and the back four of Lauren, Jess, Lolly and Nicola who dealt very capably with the attacking threat posed by Shelbourne. However, some of the resulting distribution from the Wexford defence was a bit wayward at times. Kylie Murphy and Emma Hansberry had good games also in midfield for Wexford. For Shels, Alex Kavanagh was outstanding in midfield in the first half whilst Noelle Murray took over that mantle in the second period for Shels whilst player of the match would have to go to Leanne Kiernan who looks, whilst still only a teenager, an outstanding Irish player of the future. If Wexford can get their long-term injuries back, such as Rianna Jarrett, Ruth Fahy, Ciara Rossiter and Edel Kennedy, and if Carol Breen would swim back from Australia, it already looks like a mouth-watering WNL next season.