First half shutout scuppers Leitrim's Tailteann hopes against impressive Wexford
TAILTEANN CUP ROUND 3: LEITRIM 1-12 WEXFORD 0-20
A good start may be half the battle but a bad one can definitely scupper your Tailteann Cup hopes as Leitrim discovered on Saturday, a disastrous first half showing when the Green & Gold failed to score in the first half against a Wexford team who did as they pleased in running up a match winning 14 point lead in Heartland Credit Union Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada.
A defiant second half display from Steven Poacher’s side saw them regain their customary edge and vigour as they outscored the Model County side by 1-12 to 0-6 in the second period but the damage was well and truly done in the first half, leaving Leitrim with a hopeless task of reeling in the visitors.
The Leitrim manager has talked in the past of his team’s inconsistency from game to game but here it was on show in full glory within one game as the Green & Gold looked incapable of mastering the basics in the first half as Wexford’s physical power, pace and intensity left the home side reeling.
The second half was a different story - Leitrim had no option but to throw caution to the wind, aided by a more cautious approach from the visitors who seemed more intent on running down the clock at times, the urgency gone from their play as they were content to hold Leitrim at arms’ length.
Truth be told, Wexford did that comfortably and it was only in injury time that Leitrim suddenly made inroads into a commanding nine point lead. Oisin McLoughlin and Jack Kelly supplied points, as they had throughout the second half, before some quick thinking and great vision from the Glencar Manorhamilton clubman landed an unexpected goal.
Unfortunately that goal came too late to truly trouble Wexford as John Hegarty’s team controlled possession for the remaining four minutes of action, scoring one more point and missing another as they booked their place in the quarter-finals.
The second half performance got the Leitrim crowd going, roaring their team on from an impossible position but Wexford always seemed to have the ability to answer whatever Steven Poacher’s side could throw at them.
The contrast between Leitrim’s energy and execution of the skills in both halves couldn’t have been greater, albeit Wexford’s intensity and physical power in tackles and the midfield battle disrupted Leitrim’s ability to build any sort of momentum but it was the failure to take any chances in the first half that hurt most.
Leitrim had nine scoring opportunities, five heading wide and four dropping short and long term that came back to haunt the Green & Gold, particularly as Wexford had their own costly misses, putting two fifties wides, dropping two more long range efforts short, hitting the post with a two point attempt and a fisted effort.
The defeat brings to an end Leitrim Men’s inter-county season, a season that veered wildly from highs to lows and back again but ultimately saw good progress made in the championship season with wins over Sligo and Carlow backed up by a strong display against Galway in April.
Unfortunately, Saturday’s first half display sunk any chances Leitrim had of advancing further in this year’s competition and while the second half display deserves every bit of credit in terms of picking themselves up in the face of possible disaster, it was an ultimately futile effort as the gap was simply too great.
Wexford set out as they meant to continue, Glen Malone kicking over from the corner less than 40 seconds into the contest. Leitrim were close to a perfect start, Conor Quinn unable to get a touch onto Ryan O’Rourke’s dropping short but instead of heralding a bright start, the shot foretold Leitrim’s woes in the first half.
Eoghan Nolan had a shot deflected for a fifty that keeper Darragh Brooks put wide, something we would repeat after seven minutes while Tom Plunkett shot wide on the run. Wexford started to increase their lead, an intercept on an Oisin McLoughlin pass leading toa Niall Hughes point while the kickout came to Mark Rossiter who fired over in space.
Oisin McLoughlin was booked for a lunging tackle and after a foul on Michael Kinsella, Ben Brosnan fired over a free, Kinsella then breaking a tackle to set up the veteran Wexford player for a second point on 12 minutes.
Tom Plunkett saw an effort drop short and when Wexford put together a period of patient possession, they ended with Eoghan Nolan firing over a two pointer. Killian Gaffey did well to catch a dangerous ball under pressure, Ryan O’Rourke broke free and looked set to open Leitrim’s account after 18 minutes but shot wide.
Robbie Brooks fisted over after cutting in along the endline and suddenly it was looking dangerous as Wexford led by eight, a lead that could have been more as Mark Rossiter saw a two point attempt hit the woodwork. From the kickout, Wexford intercepted Gaffey’s low kick and Pairic Hughes fired over.
Oisin McLoughlin had a shot batted out by the keeper while Darragh Brooks caught a short Paul Honeyman effort on 27 minutes, the visitors breaking for Brosnan to score a lovely point from the corner, the same player breaking through on goal from another errant kickout only to see his fisted point effort come off the woodwork in a real let-off for Leitrim.
Leitrim’s woes in front of the posts continued with Ryan O’Rourke badly off target and after Eoghan Nolan intercepted a crossfield Leitrim pass on 31 minutes, Niall Hughes landed a score. Keeper Brooks finally found his two point range from a free after a Eoin McLoughlin foul.
Glen Malone finished the first half scoring, another turnover from the kickout, but it wasn’t all good news for Wexford as they lost captain Eoghan Nolan to injury before the halftime break while Pairic Hughes saw a two point attempt batted out and Keith Keegan registered a wide.
That left Wexford leading 0-14 to no score at the break and halftime saw Steven Poacher take action with Ruairi O’Rourke and Jack Kelly introduced and it was the younger O’Rourke who finally opened Leitrim’s account, a high Keegan shot batted down by Conor Quinn to the Fenagh man for a much needed point.
Pairic Hughes cut in to respond a minute later but good work from Mark Diffley led to a second point five minutes into the half. Leitrim were starting to build momentum and when Oisin McLoughlin landed two huge two pointers, either side of a missed Honeyman two point attempt, Leitrim started to gain a bit of momentum.
Niall Hughes punctuated Leitrim’s belief with a well worked play and as Wexford slowed the game down and played a possession game, they added further points from Michael Kinsella and Brosnan (free) to bring their lead back to 12 points. Another huge Oisin McLoughlin two pointer got the crowd going again.
Jack Kelly brought the gap under ten points with a nice dodge and lovely finish on the three quarter point but time was as much the enemy, Gaffey pulling a free short and Riordan O’Rourke wide with a two point attempt.
Mark Rossiter put ten between the teams on 58 minutes but, despite falling back as he was kicking, Jack Kelly matched the score a minute later. Conor Quinn got a touch to a poor two point attempt, the ball hiding the woodwork while Brooks gathered a Kelly two point attempt with ease.
With the game in the final five minutes, tempers boiled over with Conor Quinn clashing with Wexford’s Liam Coleman after contesting a kickout in the middle of the park. Others players got involved in pushing and shoving and after referee Barry Cassidy consulted with his linesman, Coleman received a black card to go with an earlier yellow and Quinn saw straight red, reducing both teams to 14.
Oisin McLoughlin put a two point free wide but in the first minute of injury time, he converted a free. Jack Kelly added a point two minutes later to cut the gap to seven points and the young Glencar Manorhamilton player then brought a stinging save from Darragh Brooks after a perceptive pass from sub Paul Keaney.
Kelly’s quick thinking led to a moment of magic as he took advantage of Wexford only having two men on the line to drill a low shot to the corner of the net, suddenly leaving just four between the teams with just over two minutes of added time left.
But Leitrim never got any closer as Wexford shut up shot and Mark Rossiter converted a free after a three man breach while sub Sean Ryan had a bad wide as the visitors held on comfortably for victory.
LEITRIM
Scorers: Oisin McLoughlin 0-7, 1f, 3 tp; Jack Kelly 1-3, 1-0 f; Mark Diffley & Ruairi O’Rourke 0-1 each
Team: Killian Gaffey (St Mary’s Kiltoghert), Arek Oberwan (Allen Gaels), Conor Reynolds (Annaduff), Seán Harkin (Mohill), Eoin McLoughlin (Fenagh St Caillins), Mark Diffley (St Mary’s Kiltoghert), Keith Keegan (Mohill), Conor Quinn (Mohill), Kieran Clancy (Melvin Gaels), Fergal McLoughlin (Fenagh St Caillins), Riordan O'Rourke (Fenagh St Caillins), Tom Plunkett (Aughawillan); Paul Honeyman (Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins), Ryan O'Rourke (Fenagh St Caillins), Oisín McLoughlin (Fenagh St Caillins). Subs: Jack Kelly (Glencar Manorhamilton) & Ruairi O'Rourke (Fenagh St Caillins) for F McLoughlin & Plunkett (HT); Paul Keaney (St Mary’s Kiltoghert) for Riordan O’Rourke (64); James Rooney (Glencar Manorhamilton) & Eanna McNamara (Aughavas) for E McLoughlin & Clancy (57)
WEXFORD
Scorers: Ben Brosnan 0-4, 2f; Páiric Hughes & Mark Rossiter 0-3 each; Darragh Brooks (tpf), Eoghan Nolan (tp), Niall Hughes & Glen Malone 0-2 each; Michael Kinsella & Robbie Brooks 0-1 each
Team: Darragh Brooks; Eoin Porter, Gavin Sheehan, Dylan Furlong; Liam O'Connor, Eoghan Nolan, Glen Malone; Liam Coleman, Niall Hughes; Páiric Hughes, Patrick Breen, Michael Kinsella; Ben Brosnan, Mark Rossiter, Robbie Brooks. Subs: Martin O'Connor for Nolan (33), Cathal Kehoe & Sean Ryan for Furlong & Brosnan (52), Tom Byrne for R Brooks (60), Colum Feeney for Kinsella (61)