Offaly justify favourites tag with rare win over Wexford
In the very unusual position of being favourites for a game of this magnitude, Offaly rallied powerfully to take out Wexford in a gripping Leinster Senior Hurling Championship shootout in Tullamore.
The first big thing for Offaly is that it is a win over a side they haven't beaten in the championship since 2012 but more importantly, it secures their top flight status for another year – and if they beat Kildare next Saturday and Kilkenny lose to Dublin, Offaly will finish in the top three.
They would love to get there and would have been in an even better position if Galway had beaten Dublin but irrespective of that, safety was Offaly's first priority this year and they have avoided the nightmare scenario of a relegation shootout in Newbridge.
Having drawn with Kilkenny and Dublin earlier on, Offaly needed this win to really mark 2026 down as a year of progress and they achieved it with a somewhat stuttering display, but when they got a smell of victory in the closing quarter, they were unstoppable and powered home to a deserved win.
Playing with the wind in the first half, Wexford were the better side. They scored 1-04 without reply from the 11th to 16th minutes to lead by 1-06 to 0-02. The goal was scored in the 15th minute by defender Simon Donohue, who notched 1-02 in a very good first half.
Adam Screeney celebrates after the final whistle
Wexford were motoring well and Offaly just about hanging on. Dan Ravenhill and Dan Bourke kept them going with points but Wexford led by 1-09 to 0-05 after 22 minutes. Three Eoghan Cahill frees had Offaly 1-10 to 0-09 behind after 32 minutes and Wexford led by 1-12 to 0-10 at the break.
It looked like the visitors would be able to win early in the second half and they were 1-14 to 0-13 ahead when the game defining moment arrived in the 48th minute.
Wexford sub Conor Foley got a black card for pulling down Brian Duignan as he tried to get in on goal. He was already on yellow which meant he saw red, while Offaly were awarded a penalty which the brilliant Eoghan Cahill dispatched to bring the deficit down to a point.
The next few minutes was messy and there was no score until the 57th minute. That was a hugely important one as Eoghan Cahill robbed David Clarke and set up Adam Screeney for a goal. That gave Offaly the lead for the first time and it was also their first score from play in the second half.
Offaly went for the jugular and were 2-15 to 1-14 ahead when Kevin Foley got a Wexford goal against the run of play in the 60th minute to give them a lifeline.
Offaly were super from here to the final whistle, scoring five of the last six points for their first championship win over Wexford since 2012.
Offaly: Liam Hoare (0-02, 1f); Ciaran Burke, Ben Conneely, Patrick Taaffe; Ross Ravenhill, Killian Sampson, Ter Guinan; Cathal King, Dan Ravenhill (0-01); Shane Rigney, Conor Doyle, Dan Bourke (0-03); Eoghan Cahill (1-12, 1-00p, 8f ), Brian Duignan (0-02), Adam Screeney (1-01).
Subs: Oisin Kelly for Dan Ravenhill (22).
Wexford: Mark Fanning; Darragh Carley, Liam Ryan, Simon Donohoe (1-02); Damien Reck, Richie Lawlor, Niall Murphy; Diarmuid O'Leary (0-01), Conor Hearne (0-01); Ross Banville (0-01), Lee Chin (0-06, 5f), Jack O'Connor (0-01); Kevin Foley (1-00), Simon Roche (0-02), Cillian Byrne.
Subs: Conor Foley for Reck (18), Cian Molloy (0-01) for Carley (47), David Clarke for Ryan (51), Cian Byrne for O'Connor (63), James Byrne for Cillian Byrne (64).
Referee: Sean Stack, Dublin.
