Wexford get back on Leinster track with six-goal rout
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Having drawn their opening round with Galway and lost to Dublin last week, the Wexford hurlers were in bad need of a win heading to O’Moore Park to face Laois in the third round of the Leinster championship.
Given the expected tight nature of the group when it comes to qualification, they needed a big score too.
They duly got that, striking five goals in the second half to win by a massive 27 points. They will look to do the same against Westmeath in two weeks' time before a likely shootout against Kilkenny in Nowlan Park in the final round.
History was tilted in Wexford’s favour before the off. Only once in the past 80 years had Laois beaten them in the championship. Wexford had won the last ten meetings since Laois’s last win in 1985.
And an upset never looked on the cards either.
On a dark miserable afternoon, Laois stayed in touch throughout the first half but they posed no real scoring threat up front and Wexford hit five goals in the second half to win comfortably.
PJ Scully hit six frees and Enda Rowland got one though Scully also hit a couple wide he'd usually hit.
For Wexford, Lee Chin got six points in the opening half while Conor McDonald was also a threat and his goal in the 14th minute was a crucial score.
In a low-key opening half, Laois had it back to four points by the 27th minute but Wexford landed three points in a row coming up to the break to stretch seven clear. PJ Scully pulled another free back for Laois but it was 1-10 to 0-7 at the half time.
Wexford got the first two points of the second half from Rory O'Connor and Liam Og McGovern but Laois responded with Ryan Mullaney pointing in in the 43rd minute - their first score from play.
But Wexford got the next four - from Liam Og McGovern, Matthew O'Hanlon, Damien Reck and a Lee Chin free - and the sending off of Fiachra C-Fennell after he picked up a second yellow on the 50-minute mark made Laois's task all the more difficult.
A minute later Rory O'Connor got in for Wexford's second goal and after that it was only a matter of what Wexford would score and how much they'd win by.
Having drawn their first game and lost their second, Wexford needed everything they got.
Goalkeeper Mark Fanning came up to drill two penalties past Enda Rowland and Diarmuid O'Keeffe and Kevin Foley got one apiece.
Lee Chin 0-7 (four frees, one '65), Mark Fanning 2-1 (2-0 penalties, 0-1 free), Rory O'Connor 1-3, Conor McDonald 1-2, Diarmuid O'Keeffe 1-1, Kevin Foley 1-0, Liam Og McGovern 0-2, Damien Reck, Matthew O'Hanlon, Conall Flood, Conor Devitt and Jack O'Connor 0-1 each.
PJ Scully 0-8 (all frees), Enda Rowland (free), Ryan Mullaney, Aidan Corby and Brandon McGinley 0-1 each
Mark Fanning; Simon Donohue, Liam Ryan, Conor Devitt; Paudie Foley, Damien Reck, Matthew O'Hanlon; Diarmuid O'Keeffe, Liam Og McGovern; Lee Chin, Jack O'Connor, Charlie McGuckin; Rory O'Connor, Conor McDonald, Conor Hearne.
Conall Flood for McGuckin (45), Mikie Dwyer for Hearne (50), Paul Morris for Chin (60), Kevin Foley for Devitt (60), Cathal Dunbar for O'Keeffe (66)
Enda Rowland; Donnchadh Hartnett, Sean Downey, Fiachra C Fennell; Ciaran McEvoy, Liam O'Connnell, Ryan Mullaney; Jack Kelly, James Keyes; Cha Dwyer, Willie Dunphy, Paddy Purcell; Ben Conroy, PJ Scully, Mark Dowling.
Aidan Corby for Dowling (HT), Ciaran Byrne for Dunphy (53), John Lennon for Conroy (58), Brandon McGinley for Dwyer (62), Conor Phelan for Purcell (69)
Colum Cunnin (Antrim)