Wexford are through to their first Leinster senior football final since 1956 after a stunning 0-18 to 0-12 demolition of Laois at Croke Park. This was a magnificent display from the Division Three winners, who were the better team throughout, performing with tremendous belief and conviction to book their place in Leinster football's biggest game of the year. Tireless Wexford edged a tight first half played out in blustery, breathless conditions and they carved out a two-point advantage at the short whistle. The first quarter was even enough as the teams sized each other up but the seasiders took control of the second quarter and had six different scorers before the break. Laois settled first and were two points ahead after six minutes following strikes from Mark Timmons and Michael John Tierney. Midfielder Brendan Doyle replied for the Model County, opting to take his point when he could see the whites of Mick Nolan's eyeballs. Wexford were guilty of four wides inside the opening ten minutes. The Slaneysiders were awarded a free when Joe Higgins pulled Mattie Forde down but Ciaran Lyng again missed the target from an acute angle into the Hill 16 end. The impressive Adrian Morrissey tied the scores up in the twelfth minute following good work from Redmond Barry and Forde. Sixty seconds later, PJ Banville popped up with the point that had dominant Wexford in front for the first time, 0-3 to 0-2. Colm Parkinson equalised and Liam Kearns introduced Padraig Clancy for the ineffective Kevin Meaney with 15 minutes played. John O'Loughlin, who slipped, and Brian 'Bruno' McCormack, who kicked aimlessly, conspired to miss a good Laois scoring opportunity before Forde brilliantly drove a 45 low over the bar to make it 0-4 to 0-3 with 18 minutes gone. The powerful and purposeful Parkinson was showing for everything in the Laois full forward line and the No.20 punched over a clever equalising point after leading the Wexford defence a merry dance. Jason Ryan's side went back in front when Morrissey broke forward from wing back to register his second point. Luckless Laois had been forced to start without their named full forward Colm Kelly and they suffered a further blow when centre forward McCormack was forced out of the play with ankle ligament damage after 25 minutes to be replaced by Peter O'Leary, who's better known as a back. Lyng improvised well to pick out Banville for his second point and the Model men led by 0-6 to 0-4. It could have been more had not Forde's shot rebounded high off a post on the stroke of the half hour. Laois almost stole the lead with a goal but Padraig McMahon's shot on the run screamed inches wide of Anthony Masterson's net. Tierney beautifully curled over a trademark free off his trusty left foot and Parkinson missed two opportunities to level. Adrian Flynn's shot was (illegally?) blocked by the advancing Laois custodian and Barry clipped over the injury-time score that made it 0-7 to 0-5 before McMahon reduced the arrears once more with a Laois point a minute later. In the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time, Lyng raced clear of his marker to fist over the point that ensured his team of a 0-8 to 0-6 interval cushion. Laois' Brendan Quigley came in for Billy Sheehan for the start of the second half but that change didn't stop Barry from extending the Wexford lead within seconds of the restart. Forde followed that score up with his fifth wide. Midfielder Eric Bradley added another Wexford point and there was daylight between the sides with 40 minutes played, 0-10 to 0-6. Quigley's first contribution to the 2008 Leinster SFC was to pick up a yellow card for a clumsy challenge on Flynn. Parkinson again got away from Philip Wallace to grab his third point of the match but it seemed at times as if the O'Moore County veteran was fighting a lone battle. Forde finally found the range from play and the Model County led by four with 13 minutes played in the second half, 0-11 to 0-7. When Forde and Barry followed up with further scores for the rampant Model men, there were suddenly six points between them. Parkinson pulled a point back for the midlanders, when he was trying to find the top corner of the net with only Masterson to beat, 0-13 to 0-8. For the second time in the game, Nolan thwarted a Wexford player - this time Lyng - with a save that looked like a foot block; Forde was again unerring from the 45 and Wexford led by six with less than 13 minutes remaining. A foul on substitute Colm Kelly (Stradbally) presented Ross Munnelly with his first point of the match from a free. Kelly followed up with another free and the gap was four with nine minutes left, 0-14 to 0-10. Kelly palmed Parkinson's handpass over the bar for his second point in a minute and suddenly Wexford's lead looked slender, having been halved from six points to three in a few minutes. Substitute Shane Roche kicked an inspirational point off his left boot and Forde claimed his sixth score of the game 20 seconds later as the winning line suddenly beckoned for this resilient Wexford side. After Kelly took a late Laois free, the losers' woes were compounded when Clancy picked up a straight red card for his part in an off-the-ball altercation with Bradley, who was left nursing a sore jaw for his troubles. Banville demonstrated remarkable energy and will in injury time as he surged forward selflessly to take a pass and knock over his side's 17th point to seal a famous, famous win. All Star Forde closed the scoring as the result was confirmed and Wexford progressed to their first provincial final date in 52 years. Wexford - A Masterson, N Murphy, P Wallace, B Malone, A Morrissey (0-2), D Murphy, C Morris, T Howlin, E Bradley (0-1), PJ Banville (0-3), R Barry (0-3), A Flynn, C Lyng (0-1), B Doyle (0-1), M Forde (0-6, 2 '45s). Subs - D Walsh for Murphy, S Roche (0-01) for Flynn, R Stafford for Howlin, C Byrne for Doyle. Laois - M Nolan, C Healy, M Timmons (0-1), J Higgins, T Kelly, D Rooney, P McMahon (0-1), K Meaney, J O'Loughlin, R Munnelly (0-1, f), B McCormack, B Sheehan, MJ Tierney (0-2, 1f), C Parkinson (0-4), P Lawlor. Subs - P Clancy for Meaney, P O'Leary for McCormack, B Quigley for Sheehan, D Brennan for Tierney, C Kelly (0-3, 2f) for Lawlor. Ref - R Hickey (Clare) Tweet

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