More misery but brave Irish go down fighting

Ireland slipped to a second consecutive defeat in the Women’s Home Internationals at Cork Golf Club yesterday, going down 6-3 to Wales.

A day after their 9-0 mauling by defending champions England, Ireland showed their battling spirit in the morning foursomes as Deirdre Smith and Chloe Ryan recorded a 2&1 victory over Welsh pair Katherine O’Connor and Samantha Birks, although the session left the Irish trailing Wales 2-1.

In their opening match on Tuesday, Wales had trailed Scotland after the foursomes before a strong afternoon session had seen off the Scots in the singles by taking 4½ out of the six available points for a 6-3 victory.

If that dominance over the Scots in singles did not bode well, Ireland did not notice yesterday as Mary Dowling of New Ross laid down a marker in the opening match by sharing the point with Wales’s Curtis Cup winner Amy Boulden, who, with Becky Harries, had defeated Dowling and Jessica Carty 2&1 in the foursomes.

Holywood’s Carty also made amends as she earned a half-point in her singles match with Jess Evans. The Irish star of yesterday afternoon, though, was Skerries’ Maria Dunne, who beat Birks 2&1.

It was not enough to derail the Welsh, however, with Harries, Chloe Williams and Katie Bradbury all winning their singles at the 14th hole to keep Wales in the hunt going into their title deciding clash today against a highly-fancied England, with Ireland facing Scotland on the final day.