Armagh 1-8 Wexford 0-13
It just wasn’t to be for the Armagh Camogs on Saturday afternoon as they were defeated by Wexford in the Division Three league final.
The Yellow bellies started and finished the brighter of the two teams and deservingly got over the line in the end.
Armagh posed plenty of problems throughout and got back on level terms after a nervy opening ten minutes.
Ciara Donnelly was on song and her accuracy in front of the posts as well as her eye for goal kept Armagh in the game.
Chloe Cashe hit her first of seven points inside the opening three minutes before putting her side two up following a superb save from Ciarrai Devlin that denied a certain goal.
Laura Smyth replied for Armagh with a terrific shot from a difficult angle to cut the margin to one by the 8th minute.
Grace Roche got her name on the scoresheet, as did Ciara Donnelly, who popped over two frees having been fouled on both occasions.
Cashe matched both of Donnelly’s scores while Colette McSorley split the posts to leave one the difference at the water break.
Armagh did get back on level terms through another Donnelly effort, but Wexford nailed the final two scores to take the initiative at the break, 0-7 to 0-5.
Armagh’s ace attacker Donnelly narrowed the gap to one at the start of the second half, but Wexford once again responded with a point of their own.
The margin was reduced to the minimum once again through the accuracy of the Eglish forward, before Armagh burst ahead for the first time in the game.
Ciara Donnelly emerged from a ruck in the Armagh forward line and whacked the ball into the back of the net to put her side up by two.
Wexford did incredibly well to recover and slotted over the next two scores to tie the game through Cashe and Ciara Banville.
Ciara Donnelly brought her personal tally to 1-6 with another pointed free, leaving a nervy final ten minutes to play.
Armagh just couldn’t get on the ball to create something in the final few moments, while Wexford on the other hand nailed two scores.
Wing half back Aoife Dunne shot over an important score while Chloe Cashe hit the final point of the game to hand the Leinster ladies a two-point win.
While Armagh will be bitterly disappointed with the result, they will take heart from an encouraging national league campaign.
All focus will now turn to defending their Premier Junior All-Ireland crown as they will once again take on Wexford for the third time this year.
Armagh have been drawn in a group that included the Yellow bellies and Waterford, so big games are ahead for the remainder of the season.
Armagh Scorers: Ciara Donnelly 1-6, Laura Smyth 0-1, Colette McSorley 0-1.
