Kildare have beaten Wexford by a score-line of 1-04 to 0-02 to reach the final of the All Ireland Intermediate Football Championship.

It was a tight contest from start to finish, but it’s the Lilywhites who benefited from a late goal to seal the victory, ending Wexford's run of consecutive All Ireland appearances. They meet Clare in a rematch of the Division 3 Final and the 2016 All Ireland Final.

It was a fast start to this semi-final, with three scores inside the opening four minutes. Kildare looked strong from the onset, running hard lines and producing some wonderfully skilful passes to break down Wexford’s defence.

Roisin Byrne opened the scoring in the second minute with a wonderful score from open play, Byrne finding herself in a tricky position on the left flank. She struck the ball cleanly, and watched as it sailed through the posts to open the game’s scoring.

From the resulting kick out, Kildare won back possession and doubled their lead through Aoife Rattigan, who pounced on the Wexford missed reception and slotted the ball easily over the bar. Enjoying complete control in the opening four or five minutes, it looked as if things could get out of hand.

Wexford responded well and produced a score for themselves just one minute later, Amy Walsh taking her chance very well, halving Kildare’s lead. It would not be until the 18^th minute that Wexford would draw level, the game slowing down in its pace. Both sides were defending intensely, neither side allowing an inch to be gained. A Chloe Fox free would pull the sides level, but arguably Wexford should have been ahead.

The story of the half was Wexford’s three wides, two coming from Chloe Fox from frees that she would have expected to score. She looked far from her usual ruthless self in the opening half, and a Lara Curran strike for Kildare saw the Lilywhites head into the break with a narrow one-point lead.

The second half began the same way the first half finished, with Kildare enjoying the majority of the possession, but unable to really extend their lead. Wexford, to their credit, put up a stubborn defence, preventing Kildare from bringing the game beyond reach. The Lilywhites were able to break down the Wexford defence in the 36^th minute, and increased their lead to two thanks to a Roisin point in the 36^th minute.

With the difference between the two sides just two points, it was anybody’s game. However, the game-deciding moment came late in the second half. From a Wexford kick-out, the ball was being passed around the defenders. Clara Donnelly picked up the ball close to her goal and attempted a hand pass to Bernie Breen on the right-hand flank, but her attempt was blocked down by Kildare’s Neasa Dooley.

Dooley anticipated the pass, putting her body in the way of the pass and pulled off a fantastic block. The forward then found herself one-on-one with Sophie Lenehan in the Wexford goal, who was scarperring back to her goal-line having been part of the outfield possession. Dooley, knowing that Lenehan was unprepared and off of her line, drilled a low curling shot to the left of Lenehan. The shot swerved around the goalkeeper and into the back of the net, putting Kildare in a powerful position to see out the win.

Late yellow cards to Wexford’s Sarah Harding-Kenny and Kildare’s Claire Sullivan were conciliations, making no effect on the overall result of the game.

It was far from the high-scoring encounters that we have become used to when these two sides face each other, but the only thing that mattered today was the result. Kildare make it three wins over their Leinster rivals this season, and are through to the All-Ireland Intermediate Football Championship Final.

Their possession-based style of play this afternoon limited Wexford’s time on the ball, limiting their chances. They were patient throughout the game and used their experience and know-how to produce a controlled win.