A rainy November Saturday saw table toppers Enniscorthy Ladies 1^st XI travel to Rathdown School in Glenageary to take on Leinster Division 7 opponents Monkstown 5^th XI. After a one-week break, the Slaneysiders were eager to get back out on the pitch and build on their previous season wins, and what a performance they delivered.

With the home side taking first tip off, the visitors weren’t long about turning over the ball and directing the play towards the home side goal. Minutes into the game, a clever intercept by right forward May Wickham enabled the visitors to attack the towards the Monkstown circle, and constant attacks on the home goal were to be a feature throughout this one-sided encounter. Indeed, it was Wickham who opened the scoring after just five minutes.

Ciara Kelly in action on Saturday

The first penalty corner saw an opportunity for centre back and vice-captain Laura Smith to add to the opening score, and quick thinking from Smith when the attack broke down doubled the visitors lead. Enniscorthy were certainly in better form than their last league performance, and had learned lessons from their narrow 1-0 win against Suttonians, this game showcasing some superb skill and strong communication across the pitch. The attack was particularly strong up the right hand side, from right back Hannah Graham, through midfielder Ciara Kelly meeting Wickham in the corner to drive down the baseline and in the direction of the opposition’s goal. Goals followed from Ciara Kelly, Sonja Rynhart ensued, followed by a score for Kilkenny College student Isabelle Walsh, making her adult debut for Enniscorthy. A pass from Rynhart through two defenders to Walsh enables her to put the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal. shortly after, an own goal from Monkstown resulted from a deflection of an excellent cross-field pass from Laura O’Leary, and saw Enniscorthy coast comfortably into the second half on a score of 6-0.

Forward Nancy Dunphy opened up the scoring in the second half by sending a powerful shot sailing by the Monkstown keeper into the net. Superb interlinking play between midfielders and forwards, a hallmark of the first half, continued into the second, with Niamh Ogilvie, Ciara Kelly and Isabelle Walsh finding O’Leary, Dunphy and Rynhart on numerous occasions. Leah Chapman in centre midfield also played a pivotal role in transferring ball across the pitch, and changing direction to attack down the opposite channel. One such ball transfer met forward Rynhart, who entered the right side of the circle and capitalised on an opportunity by putting the ball past the keeper into he bottom left corner. A rebound from a high shot by Kelly gave Dunphy another opportunity to add to the rising score line.

There was consistent attack from right-back Hannah Graham up the sideline and towards the circle, meeting Wickham, Kelly or Rynhart. The latter was finding plenty ofspace in the circle and netted another goal in the second half.  Debutant Walsh showed excellent movement in the centre out-letting the ball to the right and left, creating space and opportunities to attack down both channels. Rynhart again attacked the right baseline and across the goal. A sly reverse-stick flick left no chance for the home ‘keeper.

Action from Saturday’s encounter between Enniscorthy and Monkstown

Despite all the attacking play from the visiting side, the defence of Jessie Flood, Laura Smith, Julie Watchorn and Hannah Graham were active in recycling ball around the back of the pitch, and keeper Norah McGinty made an excellent save from a Monkstown counter attack to keep a clean sheet.

Excellent work by Laura O’Leary attacking the baseline and into the goal resulted in another score on the board. Dunphy and Kelly finished off the game with another score each, totalling a hat trick for Dunphy, and Enniscorthy headed down the M11 happy after a tremendous performance, and look forward to their next league encounter against second-placed Muckross IV at home on the 24^th of November. Enniscorthy currently hold a seven point advantage over the Donnybrook outfit, and crucially have a goal advantage of +34 after seven matches, compared to the Dubliners +7.

Squad: Norah McGinty, Julie Watchorn, Laura Smith, Hannah Graham, Jessie Flood, Leah Chapman, Ciara Kelly, Niamh Ogilvie, May Wickham, Sonja Rynhart, Nancy Dunphy, Laura O’Leary, Isabelle Walsh.Coach: Donal Doyle & Alan Smith.Manager: Jackie Wickham.