Wexford FC Women v Shelbourne

[ForzaForth]

Great effort by the home side who put in a battling performance and secured a share of the points against Shelbourne this evening with a much better effort than the previous performance against Waterford. Wexford made one change from the team which started against Waterford with Rossi coming in and began with Maria, Emma, Lauren, Becky, Kayla, Leah, Rossi, Katie, Megan, Devon and Aisling. It looked ominous for Wexford right from the beginning as Shels applied a high press, won the ball back easily and Aisling Roche was forced to head the ball off the Wexford goal-line at the expense of a corner. From that corner, Maria O’Sullivan could only push the ball upwards and it seemed almost to cross Wexford’s goal-line but the linesman kept his flag down. On four minutes, Aoibheann Clancy of Shels had a shot saved by O’Sullivan and then, on 15 minutes, a Shels forward had a clear chance to score from close in, but could only hit her effort wide of the Wexford post. Gradually, Wexford got into the game and managed to pose a threat of their own once they could get the ball into their final third. Sanchez in the Shels goal, who looks a very effective keeper, pushed a Wexford effort around her own post for a corner and then Rossi kneed another Wexford cross straight into the hands of Sanchez. On thirty minutes, Shels went ahead when a break down the right wing of Shels allowed a free cross into Wexford’s area where Damici was able to slot the ball home for the lead goal to Shels. However, Wexford got an equaliser six minutes later when a good run by Devon Olive produced a Wexford corner and, from that corner, the ball fell kindly to Ciara Rossiter who dispatched a volley to the top left corner for the equaliser. Shels had another good chance through Severns right before the break but O’Sullivan was able to get a deflection and it only resulted in a corner for Shels. 1-1 at halftime.

[ForzaForth]

Wexford started the second half with two surprising substitutions with Devon Olive and Becky Cassin, both of whom were having good games, being replaced by Freya De Mange and Lauren Walsh although Freya, in particular, added further security to Wexford’s defence. Just past the quarter-hour mark, Shels won two frees in quick succession just outside Wexford’s area, but Maria O’Sullivan pushed the first free by Aoibheann Clancy over the crossbar for a corner and Clancy’s second free hit Wexford’s crossbar but stayed out. With just over 15 minutes to go, Molly Kirwan and Courtney Chochol were introduced by Wexford. The importance of not conceding by Wexford was then shown as a Shels defender almost diverted the ball into her own net but Sanchez was alert enough to push the ball away. Final sub for Wexford was Millie Daly before Shels rifled a low cross from their left all the way across the Wexford goal but nobody could get a touch on it. 1-1 at the end with Shels having the majority of possession but Wexford hanging on grimly at times to secure the point. With Wexford under a lot of pressure during the ninety, players such as Lauren Dwyer and Maria O’Sullivan were, as expected, to the fore but the whole team showed a lot of bottle to keep a very good Shels side from grabbing what would probably have been a decisive second goal. Further forward, Wexford’s threat largely came through Rossi while Devon Olive showed a good touch down Wexford’s right in her 45 minutes on the pitch. Aisling Roche had a good second half when pushed into the midfield for Wexford at the start of the second period while Emma Bucci also looked solid in the Wexford midfield. From Wexford’s subs, it was Freya De Mange who added to the home side’s defence and Molly Kirwan who demonstrated good composure for one so young who impressed. 1-1 at fulltime.