Junior All-Ireland – Round Three
Wexford vs Armagh
Saturday 14th Aug – Buffers Alley Wexford – 2.00pm
Both Armagh and Wexford have already progressed to the knockout stages of the Junior All-Ireland Championship.
In a three-team group, both teams just had to beat Waterford to ensure entrance into the quarter finals.
Armagh hosted the Deise in the opening round and breezed to a 3-12 to 2-8 win.
It wasn’t all plain sailing however, as Waterford gave as good as they got during the opening half hour.
Three second half goals from captain Ciara Donnelly, Eimear Smyth and Colette McSorley sent Armagh fans home happy.
Wexford had a similar outing in their clash with Waterford, seeing out a less comfortable 1-12 to 2-4 victory.
This won’t be Armagh’s first meeting with Wexford this season of course, and the two are beginning to build quite a rivalry.
The Leinster side triumph in both league encounters, the second of which was the Division Three league final.
The first conflict was an instant classic in Ballycrummy, with the away side snatching victory with an all-important goal.
The winning of the league final couldn’t be argued, as Wexford were just marginally the better side on the day.
Speaking to The Sideline Eye after Armagh’s first round win over Waterford, Leanne Donnelly looked forward to this weekend’s clash.
“We’ll just play our game and hopefully we’ll get over the line again. It’s neck and neck until the final whistle.
We’ll just go out, play our game, and don’t let the fact they’ve beat us twice get into our heads at all. It’ll be an interesting one anyway, so third times the charm”.
The Donnelly sisters will once again have a big say in how The Orchard County go on Saturday.
They’ll look to the likes of Bernie Murray, Orlagh Murray, Colette McSorley and Eimear Smyth to help get scores on the board.
They’ll have to be on top defensively as well, with Nicola Woods once again manning the square.
Michelle McArdle has been the perfect midfield partner for Leanne Donnelly and will have a big role to play this weekend.
While the game could be classed as a dead rubber, you can be sure Mattie Lennon will want his side to continue their winning momentum.
They’ve recently been crowd Ulster champions as well, so you can be sure they won’t go down without a fight.
