Eileen Dodds bemoans the slow start as the Antrim dead lose promotion

The importance of turning boom times into points was a big lesson for Wexford and Antrim Saturday night at the Littlewoods Ireland Camogie League II Final in Croc Park.

Antrim was arguably the most impressive team for their three playing quarters, but Wexford’s impressive start ensured that they would be a model region that would play their camouflage against the major countries in the spring of 2023, with a 3-in-1 win. -12:0-14. .

Just 17 seconds went by when Slyutar rolled over Antrim’s goal line near Uive Guinea and 15 minutes before the match started, Chiara O’Connor and Leah Walsh added more green flags and left. Wexford nine points well.

Even though Chloe Dren’s corner kick lost her second yellow card soon after such a disastrous start, Antry still outpaced his opponents in the final 45 minutes. In Wexford manager Kevin Tatan’s eyes, it was a reflection of the conservative base with which his players approach the competition.

“Antrem is not a bad team and they have worked really hard,” he later said.

“But there was really one element that we played a little bit safe with. There were times when we were able to pass the ball a little bit better and push it back when that extra pass that we can do can give us an extra attacking platform.

“We often used the safer option, standing two meters away and defending the score rather than just attacking the ball, so there are a lot of areas we can work on.”

Antrim’s Elaine Dodds, by contrast, was incredibly pleased with her team’s performance, despite acknowledging that failing to move up to the next level was a blow to her team.

“We desperately needed to leave the second division,” he said.

“Our league games are not very good for us this year, then last week we kicked Cork and the first game was really tough and we were lucky to win that game.

“Preparing for the semi-finals and final was not enough for us,” he said of a campaign that saw a 24-point win over Lau and 10 goals over Kerry.

“Our endurance has always been something I’ve been very proud of,” he continued.

“I’m happy enough for the 45 minutes of our game, but we have to look at the first 15 minutes, which totally killed us.

“We kept moving forward, we kept working on it and the CEOs never gave up. Even in the case of a firing, we were always against him, but I rule out that magic otherwise I would be very happy with the way we played the game.”

Wexford led 11 points briefly at the start of the second half, but superb scores from Ain Magill, Siobhan McClellan, Kaweh Wright and Royce McCormack ensured Antrim was the more motivated team at the final whistle.

The two teams will now begin preparations for the Glenn Dimplex Senior Championships, with Antrim in Group Two with full-time Irish champion Julway and neighbor Downey, while Wexford play for the Monster Heavyweight Team, along with Tipperary, Claire Waterford and Cork. .