Drama overload as wasteful Leitrim hold off late Wexford surge to reach All-Ireland Final

Where to start with this one as after a tense TG4 LGFA All-Ireland Intermediate Semi-Final in a sun-blessed Parnell Park, a dominant Leitrim booked their place in this year’s final but not without an almighty scare from Wexford who missed an injury time free that would have sent this contest to extra-time by a matter of inches.

Leitrim led by seven points when Leah Fox edged them 3-8 to 1-7 ahead with 58 minutes on the clock, seemingly home and hosed after a dominant display that was not reflected on the scoreboard, a host of bad wides and missed opportunities keeping this contest much closer than it was on the scoreboard.

But then Wexford threw caution to the wind and after missing a goal chance, they found the net in the dying seconds of normal time, prompting a huge outbreak of nerves among the massive Leitrim support at Dublin GAA’s headquarters.

Three unanswered points, two of which could have been goals, only heightened the nerves as added time ran into an incredible six plus minutes. Michelle Guckian had the chance to ease those nerves but drove a free wide, leaving the door open for Wexford.

And it seemed that the Model County would kick that door open when they won a free out on the left hand side, some 40 yards out. Kicking into the wind, Aoife Cullen looked as if she was about to send the game to extra time but her shot crucially drifted inches wide of the near post, sparking wild celebrations in the Leitrim camp.

CHECK OUT WILLIE DONNELLAN'S GALLERY OF FAN PHOTOS FROM LEITRIM'S DRAMATIC WIN OVER WEXFORD

It was incredible that it would come to that close in a game where Leitrim’s organisation, superb defensive structure and dominance around the field meant you would not have argued had the Green & Gold ended up winning this game by ten points but they were left hanging on for dear life at the end.

Twenty missed opportunities, between wides, the ball being lost as players bore down on goal or shots dropping short, give some indication of the scoring chances Jonny Garrity’s side yet in the end, it will be Wexford, with their ten missed opportunities which included four frees including the last gasp effort, that will curse their inaccuracy most of all.

Perhaps nerves got to both teams but the tale of the tape shows that Leitrim scored 3-2 in a 12 minute spell either side of halftime - Muireann Devaney drove home a goal on the stroke of halftime before creating one for Ailbhe Clancy and driving home the third herself and that was the winning of the game.

Leitrim’s second and third goals along with two points coincided with a sin-binning for Wexford’s Aisling Halligan in the first minute of the second half. With their impressive centre-back not there to stem the tide, Leitrim poured through the centre to take control of the game and once Halligan was back on the field, Leitrim managed just two more points.

That yellow card turned the game definitely in Leitrim’s favour but Wexford felt highly aggrieved when Orla Flynn avoided a yellow card herself with five minutes of normal time remaining for almost an identical incident - who knows what might have happened had Leitrim being down to 14 players in the closing stages.

Yet for all that, there is no disputing Leitrim were the superior team on the day and only their failure to translate their dominance into scores on the board kept this game in any way close. It made for a nervy ending but it was a well deserved and well engineered victory for Leitrim and one that should fill them with confidence ahead of the All-Ireland Final in Croke Park.

There they will meet a Tyrone team gunning for revenge after their group game loss in Ballinamore while Leitrim manager Jonny Garrity will again come up against his native county, raising the stakes even further if that is possible.

We might not have known it at the time but the tone of the game was set in the first minute when Muireann Devaney’s shot hit the post before Laura O’Dowd struck a fine point from the wing. Kellie Kearney drew the sides level from distance as both sides missed chances, Michelle Guckian dropping a free short.

The Leitrim team who defeated Wexford in the TG4 LGFA All-Ireland IFC Semi-Final in Parnell Park Picture: Willie Donnellan

Wexford suffered a big blow when corner-back Sarah Harding Kenny suffered a bad knee injury and was stretchered off on ten minutes but despite some poor wides, Leitrim regained the lead when a Wexford free was intercepted by Niamh Tighe and worked through Guckian to O’Dowd for a good point.

But the misses were beginning to mount up with Ailbhe Clancy missing two good chances, O’Dowd shooting badly wide while Devaney looked through on goal only to be robbed. Wexford were creating far fewer chances but were equally off target as they hit the post and missed two easy frees.

With 24 minutes on the clock, Aoife Cullen tied the scores and with both sides missing chances, it looked as if we might head into the halftime break level at two points apiece. But two quick fire points from Laura O’Dowd, set up by an Aine Redican turnover, and a fine Siomha Quinn point, set up by an Elise Bruen turnover, put Leitrim two clear.

Tara Doyle scored a fine point on the run for Wexford but after two bad wides from Devaney and Guckian, Leitrim almost broke through for a goal only for Ailbhe Clancy to see her shot blocked for the expense of a fifty. Michelle Guckian’s effort was off-target but Clancy kept it in and fed the ball to Devaney.

The Glencar Manorhamilton saw her shot blocked but the ball fell to Niamh Tighe, a stretched Wexford leg kept the shot out but the ball fell to Devaney who drove it to the net to give Leitrim a 1-4 to 0-3 halftime lead, deserved on the run of play but somewhat fortunate at the same time.

The game turned in the first minute of the second half when Wexford’s impressive centre-back Aisling Halligan was yellow carded for barging with the ball through Muireann Devaney, leaving the Model County down to 14 for ten minutes but it didn’t seem to phase them as they put together a wonderful move that ended with Ciara Banville striking a great shot to the bottom left hand corner of the net.

But Halligan’s absence proved crucial as Devaney burst through the middle but shot wide, play called back for a free that Guckian converted. Elise Bruen hit a wide but after a terrible Wexford pass in defence was intercepted by Devaney, Leitrim went straight up the middle and Clancy drilled to the Wexford net.

Banville had a point attempt come off the post but Leitrim broke quickly and kicked long to Devaney who easily beat her marker to drill home a second goal. Devaney would add a point after another powerful Elise Bruen led to a chance to Clancy that came back off the post.

Wexford hit back with a Clara Donnelly point but in the time of the sin-bin, Leitrim outscored them 2-2 to 1-1 to take control of the contest. 

Tara Doyle cut the gap to seven point but a Clancy free on 46 minutes restored the gap but Wexford were slowly beginning to create chances, Donnelly seeing a shot blocked while Devaney and Guckian shot wides and sub Leah Fox lost the ball as she attempted to break through the Wexford defence.

Two points in the space of a minute from Cullen and Amanda Power cut the gap to six points but Leitrim had a major escape when Orla Flynn avoided a yellow card for almost a carbon copy of the challenge that earned Wexford’s Halligan a sin-binning.

Wexford’s Kellie Kearney hit a bad wide while Leah Fox saw a shot tipped onto the post by the keeper but Leitrim had another close shave when Chloe Foxe burst through the Leitrim defence only to drag her shot inches wide with keeper and defence beaten.

The Wexford team who were defeated by Leitrim in Parnell Park Picture: Willie Donnellan

A strong Clancy run up the far side of the field led to a fine point for Leah Fox, a score that proved crucial as it would turn out as in the last minute of normal time, Wexford put together a great move and Aoife Cullen drilled the ball to the Leitrim net to leave four between the sides.

From the kickout, Wexford won possession and sub Grace Donovan kicked a high hanging shot over the bar and nerves were starting to jangle, nerves that got even shakier when Foxe drilled a shot over the Leitrim crossbar a minute later.

Wexford were throwing caution to the wind with full-back Maria Byrne taking the ball from a high free in the Leitrim parallelogram but thankfully, she lifted the ball over the bar to cut the gap to a point with over three minutes of added time played.

Leitrim looked to have earned a great chance to kill off the game when they won a soft enough free in the top corner but Michelle Guckian put the free wide. Wexford attacked and held onto possession as they probed the Leitrim defence for an opening before eventually winning a free.

With the chance to send the game to extra-time, Aoife Cullen hit the free well and it was on target before it drifted a matter of inches wide to Leitrim’s great relief, sparking wild celebrations as the final whistle sounded from the kickout.

LEITRIM

Scorers: Muireann Devaney 2-1; Ailbhe Clancy 1-1, 1f; Laura O’Dowd 0-3; Michael Guckian 0-1, 1f; Siomha Quinn & Leah Fox 0-1 each

Team: Michelle Monaghan; Eimear Quigley, Charlene Tyrell, Clare Owens; S Reynolds, Kasey Bruen, Elise Bruen; Nimah Tighe, Michelle Guckian; Orla Flynn, Ailbhe Clancy, Laura O’Dowd, Siomha Quinn, Muireann Devaney; Aine Redican. Subs: Leah Fox for Quinn (43), Mollie Murphy for Quigley (53), Lauryn McKeon for Flynn (57), Bronagh O’Rourke for Clancy (58)

WEXFORD

Scorers: Aoife Cullen 1-2, 1f; Ciara Banville 1-0; Tara Doyle 0-2; Amanda Power, Chloe Fox, Kellie Kearney, Clara Donnelly & Grace Donovan 0-1 each

Team: Sadhbh McCarthy; Katie English, Maria Byrne, Sarah Harding Kenny; Ciara Banville, Aisling Halligan, Amanda Power; Roisin Murphy, Bebhinn McDonald; Clara Donnelly, Chloe Foxe, Aoife Cullen, Caoilfhionn Ní Nualláin, Kellie Kearney, Tara Doyle. Subs: Loren Doyle for Harding Kenny (7), Catriona Murray for Ní Nualláin (37), Grace Donovan for McDonald (46)

Referee: Jonathan Murphy (Carlow)