Advertisement League of Ireland Horse Racing TV Listings GAA Fixtures The Video Review Sport meets news, current affairs, society & pop culture Rugby Weekly Extra Dive into all the news and analysis 3 times a week The Football Family Weekly insights from the week’s big talking points Advertisement More Stories Wexford manager John Hegarty.Leah Scholes/INPHO AnalysisLooking Up From missing out on promotion after 'sickener' penalty to flawless run to league final Wexford are the only team to go seven wins from seven in the league ahead of their Division 4 final against Limerick. 8.01am, 29 Mar 2025 Share options WEXFORD’S 2024 LEAGUE campaign came down to a controversial penalty. They were locked on 10 points with Leitrim, battling for the second promotion spot in Division 4. But since the Connacht side had won the Round 3 clash between the sides, it was Leitrim who squeezed through the gap. The slim margins of the league competition. The decisive score in that one-point defeat packed the biggest sting for Wexford. With time almost up in Carrick-On-Shannon, Wexford were two points clear when a long ball floated into their square. A penalty was awarded which Ryan O’Rourke converted to snatch the win, and effectively end Wexford’s promotion prospects. The decision was hotly disputed in the aftermath but it didn’t bring much comfort to the Slaneysiders. Wexford manager John Hegarty described the decision as “hard to take” and the knock-on effect was considerable. After falling short in the promotion hunt, Wexford lost all three of their Tailteann Cup games. Absolutely shocking decision that cost Wexford today and potentially a shot at promotion. pic.twitter.com/IjkocI6c2y— Adrian Flynn (@Panthero84) February 18, 2024 Fast forward to today, and Wexford are in a much healthier position. They’re the only team in the league to go seven wins from seven in the league, and the first team to reach that feat since Derry in 2019. Even their scoring difference sets them apart across all four divisions. Their +59 puts them at joint-first along with Division 3 table-toppers Kildare. Wexford’s promotion was secured with two rounds remaining, stamping their ticket with a 0-20 to 0-12 win over Wicklow to climb out of the basement division for the first time since 2017. Advertisement “The way the league finished up for them was a real sickener,” says former Wexford forward Matty Forde. “To get 10 points and not get promoted is tough going. But they’ve come back strong this year. “They went to John and the management team and asked them to come back. They felt they let themselves down a bit in the Tailteann Cup and wanted to do something about that. That’s always a good sign that if the players want management there, that’s half the battle. “They’ve been making a lot of changes for the last couple of rounds and they’ve still had some really impressive wins against Tipperary and Longford.” Michael Furlong, Eoghan Nolan, Kevin O’Grady, Ben Brosnan, Niall Hughes and Conor Carty are the only survivors of the class of 2017 who are still be involved with Wexford. Hegarty’s side are thriving with the new rules, according to Forde, and a pleasing sight for him is the spread of scorers. Wexford’s scoring output amounts to nine goals and 12 two-pointers, while also managing the loss of key forward Seán Nolan who picked up an injury after the first two rounds. Wexford manager John Hegarty.Paul Barrett / INPHO Paul Barrett / INPHO / INPHO “If Division 4 teams are struggling, they’re happy enough to get a lot of bodies behind the ball. But now that the game is more open, it certainly suits Wexford. They’ve managed to do without Seán Nolan for the last five games which is fairly impressive. He scored 17 points in the first two games.” Wexford will hope to cap off their league with a trophy, and one last victory to ensure a blemish-free campaign. Their opponents Limerick were their closest challengers in Division 4, with just four points separating them at the end of their Round 2 meeting. But even in the event of a victory for Wexford, celebrations are likely to be muted as they have a quick turnaround for their Leinster SFC opener against Laois on Saturday 5 April. Forde feels the gap between the end of the league and the beginning of the championship should be widened to allow teams to savour their league success. “Should Wexford win the league final, they probably can’t even go out after the match The championship is too close. It would be their first bit of silverware since 2008 and I know it’s not the be all and end all to go out and celebrate, but it’s bloody nice to do it, particularly if you have something worthwhile to show for it. It’s likely that they’ll be heading home and be back at training Tuesday night trying to prepare for Laois who have this weekend off. “They already have their eyes on Wexford.” Forde, who won an All-Star with Wexford, enjoyed the break that followed after the league and felt fresher for it once championship football commenced. “When we played, after the league finished, we played a couple of rounds of club championship. I really enjoyed that; you got that little bit of a break. I can’t ever see it going back to that but I think they’re far too close together. It’s tough on any player to play four or five weeks in a row.” Hegarty and Forde were teammates with Wexford. They can remember a time when the county was at the other end of the league, contesting the 2005 Division 1B final against an Armagh team who were All-Ireland winners three years previously. That Wexford group started out in the bottom tier before ascending through the divisions, which bears a strong similarity with the current Derry team. Forde feels those examples are not quite aligned now however, as the Derry club championship “would be an awful lot stronger than ours.” But he feels Division 3 is certainly within Wexford’s capabilities. From falling between the slim margins to carving out paths to new possibilities. “If they can get up to Division 3 and start competing there,” he continues, “And then they can start looking at Division 2. That’s where a lot of our progress came in the 2000s. “It’s going to be tough. We’ve seen teams get promoted and coming straight back down. Derry are back down. But it’s about getting up there, trying to get a few points on the board and keep themselves up there to get more used to playing at a better standard. It took us four or five years to get out of Division 4 but eventually when we did, we started to make our way.” Sinead Farrell Viewcomments Send Tip or Correction Embed this post To embed this post, copy the code below on your site Email “From missing out on promotion after 'sickener' penalty to flawless run to league final”. Recipient's Email Feedback on “From missing out on promotion after 'sickener' penalty to flawless run to league final”. Your Feedback Your Email (optional) Report a Comment Please select the reason for reporting this comment. Please give full details of the problem with the comment... This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy before taking part. 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