By Cóilín Duffy Wexford 2-11 Offaly 0-16 Wexford were pushed to the pin of their collars as a determined Offaly outfit ran Wexford to a point, in this entertaining SFC All-Ireland Round 1 Qualifier at Wexford Park. Offaly would have entered this game as firm underdogs with a disappointing league and Leinster campaign already this year but Tom Cribbin's charges firmly rose to the challenge, with forwards Niall McNamee and PJ Ward just two vital cogs. Indeed Offaly showed great hunger and determination in this game, but just fell short as Wexford's greater resolve ensured the Slaneysiders booked a passage in Sunday's night's Round 2 Qualifier Draw. The Midlanders scored the final three points in this game, but the determined hosts held out for victory in this encounter. Despite playing against a stiff first half wind, the hosts rifled out of the blocks, as a clinical Wexford were certainly eager to banish the demons of the Leinster quarter-final loss to Kildare three weeks ago. Within seven minutes of the throw-in two of the hosts forwards had enlisted their names on the score-sheet, Shane Cullen setting his sides early nerves with a pointed free with PJ Banville adding a second point soon-after. Indeed Banville was also fed a goal scoring opportunity in the opening minutes, but Offaly goalkeeper Padraig Kelly was well placed to pull off an excellent save, and deny the Wexford left-corner forward. However Offaly were beginning to dominate in the midfield sector, and Wexford were firmly placed on the back-foot as the Midlanders ran rampant. Jason Ryan's charges weren't to score for a further 18 minutes as Offaly dominated in all sectors. From a two-point deficit, Tom Cribben's side quickly made amends with seven unanswered points as they claimed a 0-7 to 0-2 advantage with 25 minutes gone on the clock. Four players were on target for the Faithful County including the veteran Ciaran McManus, who led the charge with a ninth minute point. Scores flowed freely from the Offaly men with points from PJ Ward and Niall McNamee ensuring the visitors took the lead for the first time in the 15th minute on a 0-3 to 0-2 score-line. But Offaly weren't finished there with defender Stephen Lonergan slotting over from his left boot a minute later. There were goal chances also for the Midlanders during that dominant spell with PJ Ward being gifted a golden 21st minute opportunity. However a bit of hesitancy on the part of the former Westmeath player gave Wexford time to gain composure in defence, as Ward's goal shot was expertly cleared by Slaneysiders net-minder Anthony Masterson. But this failed to dent the Midlanders hopes as they ploughed on regardless, with McNamee and Ward continuing to cause problems in attack. McNamee extended Offaly's lead to four points, thanks to an excellent brace of scores from play in the 22nd minute, with Ward completing Offaly's excellent spell with his second point to ensure a 0-7 to 0-2 lead with 10 minutes to go before half-time. But Offaly were to only score one further point before the interval as Wexford made a strong first-half finish. Firstly a brace of points with Banville and Ciaran Lyng on target - Offaly followed up with a McNamee free, but the best was yet to come from the Slaneysiders. A lapse in the Offaly defence saw a more alert Wexford attack capitalise with full-forward Shane Roche planting the ball past a crowded defence to cut the gap to a point on the stroke of the 35th minute. Offaly manager Tom Cribbin sensed some positional switches were required for the second half, with his captain Alan McNamee moving to centre-forward in a direct switch with Niall Smith. And the Faithful broke two points clear thanks to a PJ Ward free inside three minutes of the restart, but Wexford tagged on four points without reply to take the lead for the first time since the seventh minute, on a 1-8 to 0-9 score-line in the 43rd minute. Lyng, David Murphy, Redmond Barry and Adrian Flynn added points, and although PJ Ward added points either side of a Thomas Deehan score for the visitors, another defensive lapse saw Wexford regain the lead. Offaly led by 0-12 to 1-8 at the end of a fast-paced third quarter, but the final quarter began on a positive note for the hosts. A side-line ball from Ciaran Lyng 20 metres out found the in-rushing PJ Banville inside on the edge of the box, as the Horeswood man ensured Kelly's goal-mouth was penetrated for a second time. An entertaining closing 10 minutes followed, with both teams scoring three points in this period, as Wexford held out by the minimum margin. Wexford - A Masterson; N Murphy, G Molloy, D Carter; B Malone, D Murphy, C Morris; D Fogarty, B Doyle; R Barry (0-1), S Cullen (0-4, 1f), A Flynn (0-1); C Lyng (0-3, 1f), S Roche (1-0), PJ Banville (1-2). Subs: A Doyle for Carter (53); C Deely for Roche (64); D Bradley for Doyle (71) Offaly - P Kelly; S Lonergan, G Rafferty, B Darby; K Slattery, S Sullivan, T O'Connor; A McNamee, B Connor; C McManus (0-1, 1f) S Ryan, N Smith; T Deehan (0-2), PJ Ward (0-5, 1f), N McNamee (0-6, 3f). Subs: N Coughlan (0-1) for O'Connor (43); K Casey for McManus (60); C Evans for Sullivan (64) Ref - Cormac Reilly (Meath) Tweet

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