Early goals set Wexford on way to Littlewoods Ireland Camogie League Division 2 crown

Three goals inside the first 15 minutes of this evening's Littlewoods Ireland Camogie League Division 2 final left Antrim with too much to do against Wexford, who earned their return to the top tier of league action for the first time since 2019.

Just 16 seconds were on the clock when the very first attack of the game saw Aoife Guiney power past Niamh Donnelly and bat the sliotar past the onrushing Caitríona Graham for the game’s only goal, giving Kevin Tattan’s side an early boost.

Antrim looked very sharp around the middle third and moved the ball smartly through the lines with some clever stickwork from the midfield and wing forwards, but the deployment of Maeve Sinnott as a sweeper left them outnumbered close to goal, where Siobhán McKillop and Caitrin Dobbin found it difficult to get the space to work a shot.

Seven minutes had expired when Anais Curran raised the second flag of the day from a free, but a wonderful score on the run from Caoimhe Wright showed that Antrim were adjusting to Wexford’s defensive structure by carving out space for themselves in wider positions.

Mistakes were to prove hugely detrimental to their chances of getting back on terms however, and when Chloe Drain was dispossessed carrying the ball out from her own 20 metre line, Aoife Guiney and Ciara O’Connor combined to set up O’Connor for a simple and easy finish from close range for a second green flag.

Three minutes later, Guiney again turned provider, this time setting up an unmarked Leah Walsh for a handy finish from ten metres out, and Antrim were nine points adrift and with a mountain to climb.

Two points from Róisín McCormack dragged them back into the game somewhat, the second fizzing mere inches over the crossbar as she attempted to strike