By Daragh Ó Conchúir
Wexford retained their patience well as they eventually wore down Offaly by 2-15 to 0-12 at O’Connor Park.
A late Podge Doran goal gave the scoreline a flattering hue but there was no question that the victory was merited by Liam Dunne’s crew.
Offaly had the elements in their favour in the first half but failed to turn that into scores and were down by four points at half time, 1-8 to 0-7. In that context, their second-half effort was commendable indeed, especially after Cillian Kiely’s sending off, but they had given themselves too much to do by not being ahead at the break.
Jack Guiney and Liam Óg McGovern were electric for Wexford when Dunne opted to isolate them in a two-man full-forward line.
There was little between the teams as Shane Dooley’s accuracy from placed balls – he finished with eight points, one from play - kept the home team in touch early on but when McGovern set up Guiney for a goal, the result was never really in doubt.
Wexford would have been even more comfortable in the second half but for some terrible profligacy in front of the posts as they racked up 14 wides in the second half, but points from McGovern and David Redmond gave them some vital breathing space, with Doran’s strike, after receiving a pass from Guiney, providing the exclamation mark.
Antrim put up a spirited performance for the second week running, having put Wexford to the pin of their collars last week, but they appeared to run out of steam late on as Limerick pulled away for a 0-23 to 1-12 win in Ballycastle.
The victory puts them in joint second with Cork, on the slipstream of Wexford.
It was nip and tuck all the way to the change of ends and a Shiels free levelled for the sixth time, before Browne made it 0-10 to 0-9 at the break.
Antrim gave the home supporters a real boost straight after the resumption when Ciaran Clarke ended a strong run with a clever pass back to Eoghan Campbell, who beat Nicky Quaid for a goal that put Kevin Ryan’s crew in front.
Limerick showed their class though with four points in a row and Tom Condon slotted three points from wing-back, with centre-back, Wayne McNamara another.
Antrim did get it back to one but they didn’t score in the final 15 minutes, while outstanding prospect Cian Lynch (who pocketed three points from play), Dowling (0-6fs) and substitute John Fitzgibbon kept the scoreboard ticking over for Limerick to record an ultimately comfortable win.