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Date Time League Season
1 May 2021 3:00 pm LOI Women's Premier Division 2021

Match Report

Wexford wonder shines through

Wexford Youths ran out winners at home to Galway to move to the top of the table with a 5-0 thrashing at Ferrycarrig Park.

The league leaders are now a point clear of their title rivals, but Shelbourne have one and Peamount have two games in hand.

Shauna Fox’s own goal coupled with efforts from Lynn Marie Grant, Sinead Taylor and Aisling Frawley; along with Ellen Molloy’s wonder goal guided Tom Elmes’ side to a statement win.

A quintet of scores, ensured Wexford became the league’s highest scorers with their killer edge on display in front of goal, as they brought their team tally to 14 goals scored in just five games.

Despite the hefty score line, the result flattered Wexford and they weren’t at their best for the full 90 minutes, with Galway arguably the better team in the first half.

However, Elmes won’t mind if their killer instinct in front of goal is enough to secure them their first league triumph since 2018.

The Youths opened the scoring against the run of play through an own goal by Fox, who headed into her own net from a header that was meant to find keeper Maja Zajc but miscommunication proved costly.

Three minutes later and their lead was doubled going into half time as the Slaneysiders executed the perfect counterattack.

Molloy gathered possession from an opposing corner, and then released Grant with a precise pass and the game’s star player scored with a devastating finish.

Ten minutes into the second half and Wexford made it three through Taylor, who cleverly lopped the ball into the net after being picked out by a brilliant ball by Aisling Frawley.

Two minutes later and the deficit further increased through an unstoppable, outside the box wonder goal from 16-year old sensation Molloy who continues to live up to her staggering potential.

Things went from bad to worse for Galway as they went down to 10 players, as Therese Kinnevey was shown a second yellow card for a lunging foul on Molloy.

 

Wexford Yths

18Kiev Gray 22 Goalkeeper
6Kylie Murphy Midfielder
8Edel Kennedy Midfielder
10Sinead Taylor 14 Forward 55'
11Lynn Craven Defender
12Ciara Rossiter 21 Defender
15Aisling Frawley Midfielder 68'
16Nicola Sinnott Defender
17Aoibheann Clancy Midfielder
19Lynn Marie Grant Forward 41'
20Ellen Molloy Midfielder 57'
21Maeve Williams 12 Goalkeeper
3Orlaith Conlon Defender
5Lauren Dwyer Defender
14Vanessa Ogbonna 10 Forward
22Fiona Ryan 18 Defender
23Kim Flood Midfielder
24Kira Bates Crosbie Midfielder

Galway WFC

1Maja Zajc Goalkeeper
3Savannah McCarthy Midfielder
4Shauna Fox Defender 38'
5Keara Cormican 8 Defender
6Shauna Brennan Defender
9Aoife Thompson Forward
10Lynsey McKey 19 Forward
11Sinead Donovan 22 Midfielder
14Therese Kinnevey Defender 45'
61'
15Kate Slevin Defender
16Chloe Moloney Defender
8Tessa Mullins 5 Midfielder
18Elena van Niekerk Forward
19Saoirse Healey 10 Forward
22Ruth Fahy 11 Midfielder
25Trish Fennelly Hunt Goalkeeper
21Nicole McNamara Defender
  • 90'

    Full time: Wexford 5-0 Galway

  • 90'

    The fourth official has indicated there will be a minimum of three additional minutes.

  • 87'

    The game's star player has been announced as Lynn Marie Grant but it could have gone to a number of Wexford attackers.

  • 84'

    Galway subs: Healey and Fahy replace McKey and Donovan

  • 77'

    Wexford subs: Ryan and Williams replace Gray and Rossiter

  • 70'

    Galway subs: Thompson and McCarthy are replaced by Van Niekerk and McNamara

  • 68'

    GOAL! Aisling Frawley makes it five after a long ball by Rossiter and she reaches the ball first and puts it into the corner of the net with her back to goal.

  • 65'

    The free kick forces a decent save by Zajc which restricts a further deficit.

  • 63'

    Wexford substitution: Ogbonna replaces Taylor

  • 61'

    Molloy is fouled on the edge of the box and Kinnevey is shown a second yellow card for chopping down Wexford's star player in a threatening position.

  • 58'

    GOAL! It's a wonder goal from teenage sensation Ellen Molloy who fires the ball from outside the box, after a quick one two, into the bottom corner leaving the keeper stood still with no chance.

  • 56'

    GOAL! Sinead Taylor cleverly loops the ball into the net after being picked out by a brilliant ball by Ainsley Frawley. Again against the run of play but Wexford won't care one bit.

  • 55'

    Corner to Galway is a good one and Chloe Maloney's header is well saved by Gray.

  • 46'

    Back underway in the second half.

  • 45'

    Galway will feel extremely hard done by to be two goals down. For the majority of the half, the visitors were the better side but Wexford's clinical killer edge in front of goal means they face a two goal deficit going into the second half.

  • 45'

    Half time: Wexford Youths 2-0 Galway

  • 45'

    The corner picks out Edel Kennedy who fires a header at goal but it takes a deflection so it'll be another corner for the Youths.

  • 45'

    Another corner for Wexford as the Galway defence heads the corner behind.

  • 45'

    Corner for Wexford in the closing stages of the half.

  • 45'

    Four minutes additional time at the end of the first half.

  • 45'

    Ellen Molloy is down after a tough challenge by Therese Kinnevey and the defender is shown a yellow card. Fortunately Molloy is okay to continue.

  • 41'

    GOAL! Brilliant counter attack by Wexford as Ellen Molloy gathers possession from the corner and provides a perfectly weighted pass to Lynn Marie Grant who scores with a powerful finish.

  • 40'

    Decent reply by Galway and they have been rewarded with a corner.

  • 38'

    GOAL! Against the run of play and it's Wexford who break the deadlock through a long ball that is flicked on by defender Shauna Fox who heads into her own net. Unfortunate for Galway but their miscommunication proves costly.

  • 35'

    Galway manager Billy Clearly is booked for his protests at how Wexford were awarded a free kick.

  • 35'

    The long range efforts from the visitors continue as Sinead Donovan has a shot from distance that loops well over the crossbar.

  • 34'

    McKey has a shot from distance that flies over the crossbar from a difficult angle.

  • 28'

    First big chance of the match as McKey has a shot from a wide position to try to catch keeper Gray out instead of crossing but the alert Gray forces a good save at her near post.

  • 27'

    Thompson has a shot on goal that is deflected but falls into the welcome arms of Gray.

  • 23'

    Galway substiution: Mullins replaces Cormican

  • 20'

    Play has stopped for an injury break as Keara Cormican is down injured.

  • 14'

    Galway play too close to the keeper and Wexford prevent the danger.

  • 14'

    The free kick flies just wide and Galway look to break.

  • 13'

    Free kick to Wexford in a dangerous position to the left of the penalty area.

  • 12'

    Sinead Donovan takes a shot at goal but Gray comfortably deals with the danger.

  • 10'

    Even start to the contest and the game is being played at a high tempo as you'd expect from two top teams.

  • 6'

    Searching ball by Kylie Murphy almost caused problems for the Galway backline.

  • 5'

    Both sides feeling each other out in the early stages.

  • 1'

    We're underway

  • Galway\'s team is in, just over 10 minutes until kick off!

  • Wexford's line up is in and they have made two changes from last week's 1-0 win, as Lynn Marie Grant and Sinead Taylor come into the side.

  • The last time the two teams faced each other was November last year as Wexford cruised to a 2-0 victory away at Eamonn Deacy Park.

  • Galway come into the game off the back of an impressive performance at home to Treaty United as goals from Lynsey McKey, Savannah McCarthy, Shauna Brennan and Kearns led them to a 4-1 victory, in a performance which they never had to get out of second gear.

  • Billy Clery’s Galway have impressed many during this campaign and will be looking to improve on last year’s fourth place finish. Clery has the league’s top goal scorer Rachel Kearns at his disposal and she has found the back of the net six times in just four games this season.

  • Wexford come into the game off the back of a 1-0 home win over Athlone Town, in which they underperformed for the majority of the game but escaped with a much needed three points courtesy of Kylie Murphy’s penalty.

  • This game could go a long way in deciding an enthralling title race, as just three points separate second to sixth. Both sides are level on points with seven taken from a maximum 12 and they both trail leaders Peamount by just two points.

  • The weather is a mostly cloudy, nine degrees celcius with 63% chance of showers.

  • Hello and welcome to FInal Whistle's coverage of today's Women's National League clash between Wexford Youths and Galway at Ferrycarrig Park.

Past Meetings

(Series 2 - Group 1)
0 - 2
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

(Series 4)
3 - 1
LOI Women's Premier Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford Youths v Galway WFC

(Quarter Final)
2 - 3
FAI Women's Cup
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

(Round 16)
2 - 2
LOI Women's Premier Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford Youths v Galway WFC

(Round 11)
2 - 6
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

(Round 3)
2 - 1
LOI Women's Premier Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford Youths v Galway WFC

(Round 18)
1 - 1
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

(Round 12)
3 - 0
LOI Women's Premier Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford Youths v Galway WFC

(Round 5)
1 - 2
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

0 - 0
LOI Women's Premier Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford Youths v Galway WFC

0 - 2
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

2 - 0
LOI Women's Premier Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford Youths v Galway WFC

2 - 0
LOI Women's Premier Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford Youths v Galway WFC

1 - 2
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

1 - 1
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

2 - 0
LOI Women's Premier Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford Youths v Galway WFC

(Round 19)
0 - 1
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

(Round 12)
0 - 0
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

(Round 5)
5 - 1
LOI Women's Premier Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford Youths v Galway WFC

(Round 15)
1 - 0
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

(Round 8)
4 - 2
LOI Women's Premier Division
Ferrycarrig Park

Wexford Youths v Galway WFC

(Round 1)
2 - 2
LOI Women's Premier Division
Eamonn Deacy Park

Galway WFC v Wexford Youths

Ground

Ferrycarrig Park
Ferrycarrig Park, Kilpatrick, The Borough District of Wexford, County Wexford, Leinster, Y35 E296, Ireland

I am a Sports Journalism & PR graduate from Staffordshire University. During my time at Final Whistle, I have covered the LOI National League, international games and the Women’s National League. Outside of Final Whistle, I am a researcher for World Rugby and a writer for The Rugby Paper.