Free-scoring Wexford overwhelm Offaly in Tullamore

Wexford became the first Division Four side to secure their place in the last eight of the Tailteann Cup following their explosive performance in Tullamore this afternoon, where they were far more dominant than the final margin of five points would indicate.

For the second week in a row, the Model County had ten different scorers, while they also posted their entire tally of 1-22 from open play.

Their pace, power and mobility at half-back and midfield completely overwhelmed Offaly, who hung into the game with the aid of the breeze in the first half, but were soon blown out of the water once they were reduced to 14 men five minutes into the second.

The Faithful County also got out to a dream start when a foot block by Darragh Brooks on Rúairí McNamee led to a goal from an Anton Sullivan penalty, but that only served to keep Offaly in a game where they were a distant second best.

Even after that, the result always looked predetermined, as in terms of energy and power, they were overwhelmed in the middle eight, with Wexford's midfield and half-back lines particularly dominant.

Wexford had already missed two goal chances by the time Sullivan's penalty crept into the bottom corner of the net, with Mark Rossiter palming the ball into the crossbar and goalkeeper Ian Duffy showing excellent reflexes to repel a low shot from Páraic Hughes.

That Duffy was by far Offaly’s best performer on the day summed up their problems. He also produced top drawer saves to block Glen Malone and Brian Molloy in each half, and couldn’t have been faulted for the goal that was conceded in first half stoppage time.

Some good finishes from Nigel Dunne and Cian Farrell kept Offaly's noses in front throughout the opening 25 minutes, meaning that Wexford only