Wexford strike late to see off Galway

Paudie Foley’s injury time point seals Walsh Cup win

Wexford 1-16 Galway 0-18

Wexford were crowned Walsh Cup champions after a narrow one-point victory over Galway in O'Moore Park on Saturday.

Shane O’Neill looked set to claim his first piece of silverware as Galway manager, but 1-1 in stoppage time saw Davy Fitzgerald’s charges steal the win.

Wexford deployed Kevin Foley as a sweeper, which made them more difficult to break down, and Fitzgerald will be delighted with the manner in which his side fought until the end to claim the trophy.

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It was tit-for-tat in the early stages of the game before Wexford registered five points in succession.

Galway responded superbly, however, scoring four points of their own and the Tribesmen held a narrow 0-10 to 0-8 lead at the interval.

Galway’s lead was six at one stage and they always had the opposition at arm’s-length until Wexford came strong in stoppage time.

Conor McDonald claimed a breaking ball in close proximity to the Galway goalmouth in the 72nd minute and the Wexford sharpshooter made no mistake with the finish to level proceedings.

A late Wexford free dropped into the goalkeeper's hands and it looked like extra-time was on the cards, but Paudie Foley had other ideas and his late effort went between the posts to win the day for his side.

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), J O'Connor (0-8, 0-8f); M Dywer, A Shore. Subs: R O'Connor for Shore (42), P Morris for Kehoe (42), S Murphy for D Reck (42), S Donohue for R Donohue (48), C Dunbar (0-1) for Dwyer (49), S Casey (0-2, 0-2f) for Jack O'Connor (59)

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, 0-11f), B Concannon (0-1); Ja Mannion (0-1), J Flynn, E Niland. Subs: A Harte for McInerney (h-t), D Glennon for Linnane (50), D Kilcommins for Concannon (50), T Monaghan (0-1) for Walsh (53), R Burke for Brennan (55), N Burke for Flynn (57), B Concannon for Loftus (67), TJ Brennan for Haran (70+1)

Referee: Michael Murtagh (Westmeath)