It wasn’t to be for the Wicklow Ladies Football team in Aughrim, as Wexford made the short trip up to win 6-16 to 0-05.
A whopping 2-6 from Ciara Banville in the scorching sun helped the Yellow Bellies beat their opponents from two divisions lower.
Super-sub Ciara Roban came off the bench and scored 0-4, while Wicklow’s captain Lucy Dunne topped the scoring for the home side with 0-2.
Wexford were disappointingly relegated from Division 2 this year and came into this fixture needing to prove a point to Leinster, while Wicklow secured only two wins in Division 4, meaning they will remain there for the 2027 campaign.
Aughrim village hadn’t felt this much heat in 2026, which let the ball travel faster and further for the ladies, while the spectators basked in the glorious sun.
Wexford kicked off the game with an early goal opportunity for Ciara Banville, who blasted the ball over the bar, adding a point on the board.
Wicklow applied pressure to the Wexford defence, only for the away side to close down shots and block as their lives depended on it, but this didn’t stop Niamh Caffrey from levelling the score.
Wexford’s lead widened with a goal by Banville, who fisted a ball across the square from Bebhinn McDonald after making a commanding run through the Wicklow defence.
The first half began to slip away from Wicklow at this point, when a rifling effort by Orlaith Byrne from the 21-metre line found the roof of Chloe Mullin’s goal.
After only ten minutes on the clock, Wexford scored their third goal of the day when Byrne sent a low, dangerous ball into the full-forward line, letting Banville sneak in behind the Wicklow back-line and tap the ball home.
Within minutes of this, Aoife Cullen intercepted a short kick-out and buried the ball into the bottom left corner to open her scoring account and make it four goals for Wexford.
Right before halftime, a fifth green flag was raised for Wexford, as Cullen carried the ball for almost 50 metres before hammering the ball into the top right corner.
The second half began with Wexford ahead by 5-08 to 0-02, leaving Wicklow a large hole to dig out of.
Ciara Roban replaced Emma Tomkins during the break, and scored two points within the first seven minutes of the second half.
Wicklow charged forward with intent, forcing a few good saves from Siobhan Cloake, including a brave catch from the thunderous boot of Ella Parke.
Points from Parke and Dunne helped to decrease the deficit, but scores from Anna Hughes, Ciara Roban and Ciara Banville kept the score line in Wexford’s favour.
A goal from Aoife Fortune put the icing on the cake for Wexford, as she danced past two Wicklow defenders and buried the ball in the back of the net.
The Dublin referee blew the full-time whistle, and Wexford emerged victorious with a 0-05 to 6-19 win.
The Yellow Bellies look forward to a meeting with Louth in the next round of the Ladies Intermediate Leinster Championship.
