John Evans remains hopeful that Wicklow will have home advantage for their Leinster SFC quarter-final against Dublin on May 27.

The game is expected to be fixed for Portlaoise - the scene of the Garden County's surprise extra-time victory over Offaly yesterday - but Evans believes bringing the All-Ireland champions to the 8,500-capacity Joule Park in Aughrim would do wonders for the promotion of Wicklow football.

"If Dublin want to beat us, they can beat us by ten, 20 or 30 points, maybe more. I think Dublin should come to Aughrim," the Wicklow manager told RTÉ.

"There is nothing to fear in Aughrim and you're our next-door neighbours. Why not help out the next-door neighbours in the Leinster championship?

"It's a championship that is sagging at the moment."

The Kerry native was thrilled to see his team upset the odds yesterday.

"I'm delighted for the players as they have worked really, really hard and there is no two ways about it," he continued.

"The game was slow to start, first half was a bit of a slow burner, but as the tempo rose so did we, so did our attitude and so did the standard of play. We came into the game more and more.

"We brought in a couple of young guys like Cathal Magee and Daragh Fitzgerald and they added huge momentum to our play. The elder statesmen of the team also did their bit.

"It was time for Wicklow to throw off the shackles, time for the lads to express themselves, throw away the fear and start playing football. In the build-up to a number of our scores, we were flowing and we were pacy."

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