Limerick; 2-16 Wexford; 1-12 Handsome it may have been at the end for Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds but they took a long time to kill off opponents that for long stretches looked impoverished by comparison.

That this was an uneven win for Limerick seemed to please manager Eamon Cregan. Pre-Easter brilliance is pointless, after all. The home team opened and closed this match with movements of rapt beauty that glossed over the more basic concerns of 14 wides and a generally unsettled approach towards free taking.

"It was too high scoring a game really," was Cregan's post-game summary.

"We knew after Wexford's win against Tipp that they would be really determined to beat us here. In the first half, I thought we were much the superior team but didn't fully realise that on the scoreboard.

"Some of our scores were very well worked, that's the theory of it. But I would rather see 10 mucky points than two fancy scores."

And it was the bread-and-butter stuff that Limerick erred on while Wexford, wooden and all at sea in the first half, grimly clung on to the shirt-tails of their flying opponents and patiently worked their way back into the game.

Their strongest period was right after half-time, when a restructured half-back line began to dominate while the forward line concurrently woke up.

Wexford fired five points in succession, including gorgeous scores from Adrian Fenlon and Larry Murphy before Limerick responded though a long-range Mark Foley free.

But Wexford, bereft of any real threat in the first 35 minutes, relied on their famous opportunistic streak and hit Limerick with a sudden goal in the 53rd minute, O'Gorman pouncing after both Fenlon and Rory McCarthy both had ground strokes deflected in a crowded goal mouth.

It seemed inconceivable to the anxious home fans in the 6,000 that the visitors had managed 1-9 on so little hurling, just a single point behind Limerick.

"I think it was more about passion and pride for us in the second half than any result of the switches we made," said Wexford's manager Tony Dempsey afterwards.

"We found it difficult to cope with some of the decisions in the first half and also the journey was very long and if we were doing it again, we would probably travel the night before.

"You make a call on these things and sometimes they work. But Limerick were a much better team and they are a side I have great time for." That was true, Limerick were better yesterday.

Ciaran Carey appears to have rewound the clock to tap into his vintage glory, stylish and marauding around midfield.

That he wasn't the best player on the field is a garland indeed for Mark Foley. The Adare man was staggeringly good here yesterday, sweeping up along the left wing and leaving Wexford men in his slipstream on his many telling gallops forward.

Both players were involved in many of Limerick's "fancy" scores but the cream of the crop came after 23 minutes.

Damien Reale perfectly read an incoming Wexford salvo, flicked a pass to Peter Lawlor who hit a long perfect pass for Brian Begley, who clipped a point.

That sort of directness had Wexford's accomplished back pairing of David O'Connor and Darragh Ryan in bother for the first half-hour.

Indeed it was uncharacteristic indecisiveness on their part that gave Paul O'Grady the opportunity to pillage a loose ball and career through for a one-on-one against Fitzhenry that bobbled in.

Up 1-5 to 0-2, Limerick had firm control and only their elaborate succession of wides kept Wexford alive. But Wexford recoveries are hardly novel.

Ryan and O'Connor were back on song in the second half, Fenlon, Eddie Doyle, Darren Stamp and O'Gorman made the visiting presence a bit meatier and with just seven minutes left in normal time, they trailed 1-12 to 1-11.

Limerick always looked to have enough in the tank, however, and they closed in the same vein of splendour with which they opened.

Paul O'Grady contributed two sweet individual scores and Barry Foley landed a great side line cut.

Conor Fitzgerald celebrated his late arrival with a fine goal, taking a break from Begley and burying his strike. It was the closing score of the match.

"We really are not doing much hurling at the moment. Games are the only time we hurl. And we have a lot to work on in the mean time," reckoned Cregan.

LIMERICK: J Quaid; D Reale, TJ Ryan, J Foley; P Lawlor (0-1), B Geary, M Foley (0-2,1 free); S Lucey (0-1), C Carey; P O'Grady (1-1), S O'Connor, B Foley (0-3); J Butler, B Begley (0-2), M Keane (0-5, 3 frees). Subs: C Smith for TJ Ryan (half-time, inj.), M O'Brien (0-1) for B Geary (58 mins), C Fitzgerald (1-0) for M Keane (64 mins).

WEXFORD: D Fitzhenry; D O'Connor, D Ryan, M Travers; L Dunne, D Ruth, D Stamp; A Fenlon (0-2), R Mallon; L O'Gorman (1-0), D Caulfield, D O'Brien; B Lambert (0-6, 4 frees), L Murphy (0-2), M Jordan ()-1). Subs: E Doyle (0-1, 65) for D Ruth (half-time, inj), R McCarthy for D Caulfield, T Kelly for L Murphy (55 mins).

Referee: M Wadding (Waterford).