Joe Bergin bagged 1-8 as Offaly bounced back from their shock defeat to Westmeath in impressive fashion at Wexford Park yesterday to reach the Walsh Shield final.

Offaly 2-18
Wexford 1-15

While Wexford were in experimental mode, this was still a fine win for the Faithful County and their new manager Ollie Baker. The visitors immediately set out their stall with Sean Ryan's early point being followed by a Derek Molloy goal from a speculative shot.
Jack Guiney and Tomas O'Leary replied with points for Wexford, but Bergin then took centre stage by landing four points. Further points from Molloy and Ryan ensured Offaly of a 1-12 to 0-7 lead at the break.

Wexford got themselves back into contention when Rhys Clarke netted four minutes after the restart to reduce the margin to three points, 1-12 to 1-9, but a spectacular overhead goal from Bergin put Offaly six points clear and they maintained that advantage until the final whistle.

Scorers - Offaly: J Bergin 1-8 (4f, 1 '65), D Molloy 1-2, S Ryan 0-2, C McDonald, C Mahon, M Morkan, D Mooney, S Dooley (f), T Carroll 0-1 each. Wexford: J Guiney 0-5 (2f), M O'Hanlon 0-4, R Clarke 1-0, T O'Leary 0-2, C Farrell, J Berry, G Moore, I Byrne 0-1 each.

Offaly - E Kelly; B Mulrooney, S Coughlan, B Watkins; B Harding, C McDonald, D Horan; M Verney, C Mahon; C Egan, D Molloy, M Morkan; S Ryan, J Bergin, D Mooney. Subs: J Regan for Harding; T Carroll for Morkan; S Dooley for Ryan; S Wynne for Mahon.

Wexford - M Fanning; B McCormack, B Travers, B Kenny; W Devereux, J Lacey, S Murphy; D O'Keeffe, C Farrell; M O'Hanlon, S Tomkins, J Berry; T O'Leary, R Clarke, J Guiney. Subs: D M Carroll for Farrell; G Moore for Clarke; I Byrne for Tomkins; S O'Gorman for Devereux; C Kehoe for Guiney.

Ref - S Cleere (Kilkenny) Tweet

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