WYW v Shelbourne

[ForzaForth]

Shels blew the WNL title race wide open with a narrow but deserved victory at Ferrycarrig tonight after an absorbing contest. WYW started with Sophie, Nicola, Lauren, Lolly, Doireann, Katrina, Kylie, Edel, Emma, Aisling and with Rianna up front. With Wexford only needing a draw to make them difficult to catch, they played very passively in the first half and paid the price. Shels should have gone ahead in the first minute when a cross into the WYW area wasn’t cleared, but WYW defenders managed to block two goal-bound shots on the line. First effort on goal by Wexford came after four minutes when Rianna had a volley a couple of yards wide. It was 1-0 to Shels on seven minutes when Niamh Prior’s near-post cross found the Wexford net. Wexford looked as if they could score when they could get decent ball into the Shels area, however, and Rachel Kelly in the Shels goal had to work really hard to just touch away an Emma Hansberry free for a Wexford corner. Wexford were still not dominating the ball, however, and were also giving it away much too easily. Rianna then had a header saved by Kelly in the Shels goal and Noelle Murray had a dangerous free which she hit straight at Sophie Lenehan in the WYW goal. With two minutes to go in the half, Wexford allowed the tallest player on the pitch, Malinda Allen, to move unhindered towards the near post at a Shels corner and her free header gave Lenehan no chance. 2-0 to Shels at half-time with Wexford having looked very lethargic during the first period.

[ForzaForth]

Wexford upped their game considerably in the second period and it nearly proved to be enough. In the first minute, Kylie Murphy had a volley straight at Kelly and with seven minutes gone, Nicola Sinnott’s shot was deflected past Kelly and Wexford had pulled a goal back. Wexford then began to play their best football of the game with Katrina Parrock looking very lively on her wing and going very close on a couple of occasions. However, Izzy Atkinson then profited from a rare Shelbourne attack when she snaffled a rebound off Sophie Lenehan’s legs to put Shels 3-1 ahead. However, Wexford weren’t finished and with six minutes to go Rianna Jarrett managed a looping header to put Wexford 3-2 behind. Kelly then saved a Rianna Jarrett volley and handled well a great drive by Lauren Dwyer to leave Shels 3-2 in front at the final whistle. With the two teams having to meet again, the WNL league title is now up for grabs and Wexford need to learn to put in the effort right from the start of games. Best for Wexford were Katrina Parrock, Edel Kennedy, Kylie Murphy and Lauren Dwyer, while Jess Gleeson, Niamh Prior and Izzy Atkinson put in good shifts for the away side. 3-2 to Shels at full-time.