A general view of Glenisk O'Connor Park. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
oneills.com Leinster U20 Leinster Hurling Championship
Tier 1, Group 1
Offaly 1-25 Laois 0-14
Tier 1, Group 2
Wexford 1-17 Dublin 0-18
Tier 2, Group 1
Kildare 3-17 Kerry 2-14
By Paul Keane
For the majority of Wexford's crucial oneills.com Leinster U-20 HC encounter with Dublin, they were chasing the game.
They did lead briefly early on but when Dublin senior Conal O Riain pointed for the hosts in the sixth minute, Dublin were either ahead or on level terms all the way until the 59th minute.
That was when Wexford captain Simon Roche converted a penalty, nudging the Model County a point clear and the placed ball specialist added another point from a free shortly after to steal a significant win.
In all, Roche struck 1-10 for Wexford and proved the difference as they locked down second position in the Tier 1, Group 2 table - and a provincial quarter-final place.
Dublin, who have finished third in the three-team group following defeats to Kilkenny and Wexford, will now advance to a preliminary quarter-final against a Tier 2 team on Wednesday, April 23.
All is certainly not lost for Dublin who showed enough in their two games to suggest they can still have a major say in the competition. They will also remember finishing bottom of their group last year too before regrouping and reaching the Leinster final.
Dublin supporters must have believed a win was on the cards this afternoon when they led Wexford by 0-12 to 0-8 at half-time.
O Riain was one of seven different Dublin scorers in that half with fellow Dublin senior Brendan Kelly also pointing.
Wexford responded with the first four points of the second-half to level it up at 0-12 apiece.
They were tied again at 0-13 to 0-13 before Dublin pulled two clear, 0-18 to 0-16, thanks in part to scores from Joey Kinnane, David Mulqueen and free-taker Daniel O'Kelly.
It remained that way with a minute of normal time remaining but Roche's late 1-1 sealed a memorable win for Wexford who will face a preliminary quarter-final winner on Monday, May 5.
Galway and Kilkenny are already through to the province's last four as Tier 1 group winners.
Offaly have finished as runners-up in Tier 1, Group 1 following their impressive win over Laois and will play in a May 5 quarter-final.
Senior star Adam Screeney and Patrick Lyons fired seven points each as the Faithful bounced back from defeat to Galway.
It was Screeney's first start of the year following injury and he was called ashore in the third quarter of the game.
By that stage, Offaly were well in control, and they built on a 0-13 to 0-6 half-time lead thanks to a late goal from Conor Egan.
Shane Rigney also weighed in with five points while Fitzgibbon Cup Team of the Year member Donal Shirley made the scorers list too.
Kildare needed to beat Kerry to claim top spot in Tier 2, Group 1 and duly delivered on home soil - but they had to come from four points down at half-time to do so.
Kildare struck the first four points of the second-half, two from Oran Byrne, before landing three crucial goals in the final quarter hour from Alex Bell and Evan O Briain, 2.
Kildare's reward is an April 23 Leinster preliminary quarter-final clash with Laois.
