Ladies Gaelic Football

24 // Ladies Gaelic Football Association WEXFORD'S ANTHONY MASTERSON PEIL Summer | Issue No 2 | Volume 14 now a Football Development Officer for Leinster GAA. He's getting paid for what he loves, while also guiding the fortunes of the Wexford Ladies. At home, Masterson also has his girlfriend Orlagh and daughter Caragh to take care of. Caragh became an internet sensation when she was pictured in the post-match celebrations following the Lidl NFL Division 3 final victory over Meath earlier this year. And the following day, the Irish Independent's back page featured Wexford's hat-trick star Catriona Murray. Masterson smiles: "We made a decision that we wouldn't be 'sharents' but eight months later, Caragh was on every paper in Ireland! "But I have to say that we've got new clubs starting up in Wexford, popping up all over the place. "We have our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages and we feel that's important, to promote the game as it needs to be seen by young girls in Ireland. "If you looked at the back of the paper, you'd be used to seeing Henry Shefflin or Joe Canning or Bernard Brogan but to see Catriona or Aishling Moloney or Cora Staunton brings it back to the girls. They feel part of the GAA and it makes girls feel wanted and appreciated." exford manager Anthony Masterson says that Tipperary are the template for his side to follow as the Slaneysiders look to make a big impact in the 2018 TG4 All-Ireland intermediate championship. Masterson doesn't need reminding that it was Tipperary who defeated the Slaneysiders in the 2017 Lidl National League Division 3 final, after a replay, before the sides met again in the TG4 All-Ireland quarter-final. Tipp ran out winners in that latter game by just a single point before going on to land the All-Ireland crown. But when Wexford sat back and reflected on the season, they realised how close they were. And watching Tipp progress further this year has fuelled Wexford with the belief that they can follow suit. Tipp claimed a remarkable success in Division 2 of the Lidl League and will play top-flight next season. And in the senior championship, they were hugely competitive against Cork in a TG4 Munster semi-final, falling short by just five points. That tells Masterson that Wexford aren't too far away and he nods: "Without a doubt. We've even been talking about them (Tipp) in training. "They're after winning Division 2 and we see ourselves very close to Tipp. "It took a replay to separate us in the League final last year and extra-time in the championship. We were very close to them and they're a great side. "We spoke about it at the start of the year and used them as a template to move forward, that if we could add an extra ten or 20 per cent, we could be the next Tipperary. "We wanted to be in Division 2, that was one of our main goals, and we've seen after Laois beat us in the Leinster semi-final the advantage of playing those tougher games. "The experience that Laois had stood to them in the last 10-15 minutes." At the time of writing, Wexford's attentions were turning towards the TG4 All- WEXFORD WANT TO BE THE NEXT TIPPERARY Wexford Manager Anthony Masterson shares his thoughts with Jackie Cahill Ireland intermediate round-robin series, with Masterson's team pitched in with Clare, Down and Kildare. He adds: "We were very disappointed to lose (against Laois), don't get me wrong, we put ourselves in a commanding position, 0-8 to 0-2 ahead in the first half and up by five with ten minutes to go. "We won a Leinster semi-final last year and contested a final and while we had enough experience to get us over the line, Laois showed great resolve to come back. "When they got the lead in injury time, they showed great experience with Clare Conlon and those girls getting on the ball and controlling it." Wexford's qualifier campaign was due to begin against Kildare, with fixtures to follow against Down and Clare. In a competitive four-team group, Masterson was expecting a formidable challenge. "When the schedule came up at the start of the year, I thought it was brilliant," he says. "I spoke to the girls and as players, you want to have games. "Some might complain about three games in as many weeks but we'll embrace it. "We won't be able to do much training and the focus will be on recovery but it's great for a bit of momentum and no players want to be on a break for six, seven or eight weeks. "With Kildare, Down and Clare, it's the 'group of death' if you want to call it that. "It's the luck of the draw that's where we ended up after Laois beat us but our aim is to get to another quarter-final and to do that, we have to finish in the top two in the group." Football never stops for Masterson, the former county senior team goalkeeper who's W

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