Westmeath ladies aim to topple Wexford again

Westmeath ladies footballers will aim to carry their fine form into Sunday’s All-Ireland quarter-final clash with Wexford at TEG Cusack Park (2pm).

The Lake County face a repeat of their Leinster final clash with Wexford following the draw for the 2026 TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship quarter-finals on Monday June 15.

As one of the group winners, Westmeath will have home advantage and they will obviously be hoping that gives them an edge against the Slaneysiders, who are expected to provide strong opposition once again.

Westmeath manager Frank Browne will be aiming to plot the downfall of his native county once again after their fine victory in the Leinster final.

Meanwhile, Westmeath star Anna Jones has been honoured with The Croke Park Hotel/LGFA Player of the Month award for May following some noteworthy performances.

The Mullingar Shamrocks player (25), produced a player of the match performance against Wexford in the TG4 Leinster Intermediate final on May 16 as the Lake County retained their provincial crown.

And Westmeath have carried that excellent form into the TG4 All-Ireland series, secured a home quarter-final with two wins in their group games.

Victories over Monaghan and Louth have sent Westmeath through as table-toppers in Group 2 – with Anna pulling the strings from the centre of the park, and contributing 1-4 over the course of their two games.

Having lost out to eventual winners Tyrone after extra-time in a thrilling semi-final last year, hopes are high in Westmeath that they can launch another big push for All-Ireland honours.

Anna, a vastly-experienced player and a TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate champion in 2021, was presented with her award recently by Sean Reid, General Manager, The Croke Park Hotel.

Westmeath retained their Leinster intermediate title with a six-point win over a spirited Wexford side at Cedral St Conleth’s Park last month.

The other quarter-finals are Leitrim v Roscommon, Clare v Fermanagh and Down v Monaghan (first named team at home in all cases).

If Westmeath and Roscommon both win their quarter-finals, they will meet in a local derby All-Ireland semi-final which would be an intriguing affair.

The semi-finals are due to be played on Sunday July 12.

In the relegation play-offs, Cavan will take on Laois and Louth will play Wicklow. Both games will take place on June 27/28 at neutral venues.

The winners of those games will play in the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship again in 2027, while the losers of both ties will play off against each other on Sunday July 6. The winner of that tie will preserve their intermediate status, with the loser relegated to the junior grade for 2027.

All-Ireland Intermediate Championship quarter-finals

1. Clare v Fermanagh; 2. Westmeath v Wexford; 3. Down v Monaghan; 4. Leitrim v Roscommon.

Semi-finals: winner QF 1 v winner QF 3; winner QF 2 v winner QF 4.

Westmeath team who overcame Wexford in the Leinster final: Aoife Temple; Fiona Coyle (captain), Lucy Power, Lara McCartan; Phillippa Ruane, Ashley Ruane, Chloe Kelly Gonoud; Anna Jones, Vicky Carr; Aoife Keegan, Lucy McCartan, Treacy Dillon; Rebecca Higgins, Sarah Dillon, Katie Kilmurray. Subs used: Sarah Murphy for P. Ruane (51), Sinead Robbins for Lara McCartan (57). Rest of panel: Ellen Taite, Niamh Nolan, Caoimhe Kilmurray, Holly Keenan, Siobhan O’Donnell, Maisie Currams, Rebecca Scally, Louise Payne, Rachel Murphy, Laura Madden, Sandra McWade, Amy Donlon, Kate Stuart Trainor.

Scorers in the Leinster final were - Westmeath: V Carr 2-1; S Dillon 0-7 (1tp); A Jones 0-5 (3f, 1tpf); K Kilmurray 0-3 (1f); A Keegan, P Ruane, L McCartan and A Ruane 0-1 each.

Wexford: A Cullen 2-3 (1-0pen, 0-2f); E Tomkins 1-1; C Banville 0-4; A Hughes 1-0.