Wickow U-14 side defeat Laois in first game of season
WICKLOW 4-6 LAOIS 4-5
Wednesday March 03 2010
WICKLOW contested their first match of the u-14 Championship on Sunday last against a fancied Laois team, a county that have not lost to Wicklow at this grade for over fifteen years.
Fielding the majority of players that contested last year's campaign, hopes were high that Wicklow could overturn the odds and with the advantage of a home draw, such proved to be the case in this tight, exciting encounter.
Wicklow opened brightly, centre-half forward Ciara Byrne pointing with just 2 minutes on the clock. Corner-forward Aoife Keddy extended Wicklow's lead to four points moments later when she deftly latched onto a goalmouth clearance and netted with style.
Laois gradually asserted a level of dominance at midfield, although it was a full ten minutes before they registered their first point, stout defending from the Wicklow backline of Lorna Mallick, Antonia Heffernan and Amy Doyle denying Laois any hint of goal.
On the twentieth minute Laois' efforts were finally rewarded when they netted from close range. Wicklow's response was immediate, a pointed free from Ciara Byrne and a poachers goal from wing forward Leanne Quigley.
Laois regained parity in similar fashion, a free and a close range goal with five minutes left in the half. It was imperative that Wicklow enter the break with some sort of advantage given that they had been playing with the aid of a stiff breeze. Ciara Byrne proved to be Wicklow's inspiration, tagging on three fine points before the break and leaving the half-time score at Wicklow 2-5, Laois 2-2.
Laois hit the ground running at the start of the second period, a goal and two points within five minutes edging the Queens County into a two point lead. Despite the score line, Laois were finding the Wicklow midfield pairing of Rachel Byrne and Shauna Marah increasingly difficult to contain and it was the former that laid the groundwork for a ten minute spell that saw Wicklow net twice off the sticks of Jamie O'Neill and Katie Boucher, two sweet strikes that would grace any game. The two teams then traded points before Laois netted on the stroke of full time, leaving the bare minimum between the sides and a mightily relieved Wicklow management.
Great credit is due to the unsung heroes of the day, fine individual performance from Sarah Lifely, Aine O'Keefe, Caitlin Olohan, Ellen Green, Rebecca Hagan Niamh Kenny and Tracy Sunderland all ensuring that Wicklow contested gamely at every position on the field. This Saturday Wicklow face old foe Carlow away in the next round of the competition, all support would be greatly appreciated.
