Antrim turn the tables in the first Very National League opener

Very League Div 1B Antrim v Wexford 15th February 2025

Antrim 0-14 Wexford 2-07

Match report and photos from Antrim County PRO Michael Corcoran in St. Mary’s GAA Club, Ahoghill

A six-pointer breeze would be Antrim’s captain, Amy Boyle’s card up her sleeve. Winning the toss, Boyle opted to grind the first half towards the Ballymena end of Fr. McGuigan Park, and what a strategic gamble that proved to be. Wexford were hypnotised into scoring below the bar as two goals topped the scoreboard before the short whistle and failed to use the airborne route to amass a wind assisted advantage. It would be Antrim who would fly the sliotar high and between Wexford’s posts to carve out a win from a match heavily punctuated by endless fouls ranging from throw balls, pickups, pushes and beating the cross bar with the stick.

A change of referee had Eamon Cassidy taking charge and at the top of the hour at two o’clock, the sliotar bounced its way into the centre of the pitch. It would take all of four minutes and four frees that amounted to nothing, before Antrim had a real chance to grab the first score as Erin Coulter found Nicole McAtamney but as the midfielder floated a high ball, the wind pushed it wide of the mark. It was Wexford that took the opportunity to post the first score, albeit from a free, as Chloe Cashe pointed after five minutes.

McAtamney though would quickly make amends, and after seven minutes, took full advantage of an over carry infringement for Antrim’s first point of the game.

Both sides would add another two points to their scores at three apiece, but Antrim’s Janey McIntosh’s point from an Eavanne Martin pass was worthy of noting as the acute angle seemed impossible to score from, given the strength of the breeze, willing to push it wide.

A sign of change in the game would arrive twenty minutes into the first half as Wexford’s Joanne Dillon couldn’t convert a real goal chance into bounty but the sliotar would make its way back to Antrim’s square in less than a minute, as Jessie Morrissey placed the sliotar wide of goalkeeper Caitriona Graham and in off the right hand post for the first of Wexford’s goals.

The Model County now had a taste for goals and when Caoimhe Byrne found Meadbh Wickam running in at close range, Antrim’s keeper had little chance and Wexford were now two goals better and three points at the twenty-five-minute mark to Antrim’s three points.

Wexford added a further two points to go 2-05 to 0-03 before Antrim’s Dervla Cosgrove drew her free wide of the upright, however referee Cassidy was not allowing a bang of the bar with the hurl to go unnoticed and asked Cosgrove to retake the free and that put Antrim one point the better as the whistle blew for half time.

The second half was where Antrim tipped the game in their favour, with the breeze on their backs. A differential of scores had Antrim amassing ten points to Wexford’s two and those came from frees, amidst a plethora of fouls that had the game in a stop-start mode.

This second half would see a big input from Dervla Cosgrove as she weaved her way into a firing position for three of her seven points, floating four free points in succession over Laura Brennan’s bar. To the many Saffron supporters lining the pitch, it felt like Antrim were able to take the game at least to the visitors if not from them.

For the first time in forty-five minutes or so of play, Katie Molloy brought sides level from an accurate tap over the bar from the centre of the field, but Wexford would reply with one of their frees from a tripping infringement.

Wexford’s sideline team were pacing the cage looking for any advantage, but Antrim were quick to shut down runners and walled up against any advances around Graham’s danger zone.

That tenacity and physicality would pay off as Eavanne Martin levelled sides again and despite Wexford’s Chloe Cashe finding the ball net at twenty-eight minutes to level Lucia McNaughton’s score from a clever pass from Katie Molloy, Antrim’s Cosgrove had the honours of pitching the sliotar over the bar from a free resulting from a throw ball and that was enough to give Antrim the game as the long whistle sounded around Fr. McGuigan Park.

Antrim have got off to a great start in their league campaign and will be pleased with today’s result and will look forward to enjoying the return of several absentees that will add additional fire power to the Saffron side.

Antrim starters and scorers

Caitriona Graham, Clare McKillop, Katie Lynn, Caoimhe McNaughton, Erin Coulter, Eavanne Martin 0-01, Shannagh Heggarty, Amy Boyle, Nicole McAtamney 0-02 (1f), Sarah Fyfe, Lucia McNaughton 0-01, Dervla Cosgrove 0-07 (3f), Janey McIntosh 0-01, Katie Molloy 0-02, Cassie McArthur

Wexford starters and scorers

Laura Brennan, Miria O’Dowd, Sarah O’Connor, Roisin Cooney, Muireann Fitzpatrick, Laura Dempsey, Amy Cahill, Anais Curren 0-01, Chloe Cashe0-05 (4f), Sadbh Buttle, Joanne Dillon 0-01, Caoimhe Byrne, Meadbh Wickham 1-00, Jessie Morrissey 1-00, Leagh Furlong

Photos from today’s game can be found by clicking on the link here...

https://myalbum.com/album/q5nCJ3HEDq3qRN/?invite=f025d6fa-28ee-4b3a-b4f4-671b78e93109

Follow Michael G. Corcoran on X @keep_clickin for match GIFS when available.