Wexford 1-16

Galway 0-18

Wing back Paudie Foley was the Wexford hero as Davy Fitzgerald's men snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in a gripping Walsh Cup final at MW Hire O'Moore Park.

Galway had one hand on the cup when they led by three points in injury-time, but Wexford refused to throw in the towel and equalised with a goal from Conor McDonald before Foley fired over the winner from long-range in the 74th minute, much to the delight of their supporters in the 1,725 crowd.

It was nip-and-tuck for much of the first half before Galway grabbed the last three points to take a 0-10 to 0-8 lead into the break. The sides were level five time in the opening 35 minutes, with Tadhg Haran hitting 0-7 from frees for the Westerners and Jack O'Connor converting 0-5 from placed balls at the opposite end. Damien Reck and Aidan Rochford were also on target for the reigning Leinster champions who shot just two wides compared to Galway's eight.

Shane O'Neill's charges resumed with unanswered scores from Haran (two frees), Adrian Tuohy and Brian Concannon before three O'Connor frees left it 0-11 to 0-14 with 20 minutes to play. 

Another brace of Haran points, the first of which was his first from play, restored Galway's five-point advantage before two Seamus Casey frees made it a three-point game going into stoppage-time. McDonald's goal brought Wexford level before Foley won it at the death as they added the Walsh Cup to the Bob O'Keeffe Cup they memorably claimed last summer.

Wexford will return to Portlaoise in seven days' time for their Allianz League opener against Laois, while Galway will welcome Westmeath to Pearse Stadium next Sunday.

Wexford - J Lawlor; G Molloy, L Ryan, Joe O’Connor; K Foley, P Foley (0-1), R Donohue; D Reck (0-1), A Rochford (0-2); A Nolan (0-1), H Kehoe, C McDonald (1-0); Jack O’Connor (0-8f), M Dwyer, A Shore. Subs: R O’Connor for A Shore, P Morris for H Kehoe, S Murphy for D Reck, S Donohoe for R Donohue, C Dunbar (0-1) for M Dwyer, S Casey (0-2f) for Jack O’Connor.

Galway - D Fahy; P Killeen, J Grealish, TJ Brennan; P Mannion, G McInerney, A Touhy (0-1); S Linnane (0-1), S Loftus (0-1); C Walsh, T Haran (0-12, 11f), B Concannon (0-1); Ja Mannion (0-1), J Flynn, E Niland. Subs: A Harte for G McInerney, D Glennon for S Linnane, D Kilcommins for B Concannon, T Monaghan (0-1) for C Walsh, R Burke for TJ Brennan, N Burke for J Flynn, B Concannon for S Loftus, TJ Brennan for T Haran.

Referee - M Murtagh.

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