The minor hurlers of Wexford and Dublin produced a thrilling encounter at Croke Park on Sunday as they played out an exciting 3-13 to 3-13 draw in the ESB Leinster semi-final. Dublin 3-13 Wexford 3-13 Both sides had chances to win the match late on, but it took a late free from Michael O'Hanlon for Wexford to draw level when it looked like they had missed the boat. In fairness, it would have been tough on either side to lose this excellent game, which gives great hope for the future of the game in both counties. Wexford started well and a Diarmuid O'Keefe goal put them in the driving seat, but the Dubs hit back with two goals by captain Liam Rush as the match turned into a free flowing contest. With just seven minutes on the clock, the Dubs hit the back of the net again when Ciaran Brennan fired home and it looked as if the defending champions may cruise to victory. Almost immediately, Wexford replied with their second goal of the match when Joe Kelly netted after he followed up on a Eoin Young save from a Paul Morris shot. The next few minutes saw Kevin O'Loughlin come to the fore for the Dubs as he scored four points to help Shay Boland's side to a half-time lead of 3-6 to 2-5. Dublin stretched their lead to six points following two more frees by O'Loughlin, but then O'Hanlon won a penalty in the 38th minute and although Andrew Shore's effort was saved, Diarmuid O'Keefe was on hand to slot home the rebound for his second major of the afternoon. The Dubs were dealt a blow when impressive goalkeeper Eoin Young had to go off through injury, but it did little to affect their performance as they maintained focused. As the clock ticked down, Shane Tomkins levelled for Wexford with five minutes to go and then O'Hanlon and O'Loughlin exchanged points to send the match to a replay. Dublin - E Young, B O'Carroll, D Kelly, S Timlin, M Quilty, C O'Farrell, D Curran 0-1, J O'Callaghan 0-1, C Gough 0-1, N McMorrow, M Coughlan, K O'Loughlin 0-8, C Brennan 1-1, L Rush 2-0, D Plunkett 0-1. Subs: M Schutte for Young, F Clabby for O'Farrell, C Dorney for O'Callaghan, D Sutcliffe for Brennan Wexford - M Fanning, W Devereux, Matthew O'Hanlon, P Donnelly, S Murphy, E Moore, J Leacy, H Kehoe, A Shore, S Tomkins 0-2, P Morris 0-7, J Gahan, D O'Keeffe 1-0, Michael O'Hanlon 1-4, J Kelly 1-0. Subs: P Kelly for Gahan, C Clince for Matthew O'Hanlon, L Og McGovern for Kelly, B Nolan for O'Keeffe Referee - T Carroll (Offaly) Tweet

Most Read Stories