By Rory Delaney, O'Moore Park
Wexford 0-22 Laois 0-21
Wexford avoided a relegation play-off against Laois thanks to a last-gasp point from Shane Tomkins.
Wexford trailed by two points with time almost up, but Cathal Dunbar and Lee Chin drew them level before Tomkins struck with almost the last puck of the game to seal the win for Wexford.
The late score means that Kerry will face off with Laois in the play-off, while Wexford advance to a quarter-final against Division 1A table-toppers Kilkenny.
Laois, in search of a first win, opened brightly with a point from John Lennon after just 10 seconds.
The opening stages remained cagey, as neither side were able to impose themselves on proceedings enough to be in control, and there was no separating them with a little over 15 minutes played.
Wexford hit four points without reply to give themselves a bit of a cushion and lead 0-14 to 0-11 at the break.
The second half was fantastic entertainment, as Laois quickly drew level thanks to the accuracy of PJ Scully, and the home side started to dictate the play for a spell.
Laois looked to have done enough to claim a first win of the campaign when Scully and Purcell both pointed in the closing stages, but they couldn't hold out.
Teams and Scorers
Scorers for Wexford:M C McDonald 0-8 (7f), S Tomkins 0-5, I Byrne 0-4 (1f), P Morris 0-2, L Óg McGovern, C Dunbar, L Chin 0-1 each.
Scorers for Laois: PJ Scully 0-9 (7f), C Dwyer 0-3, P Purcell, W Dunphy, W Hyland 0-2 each, C Stapleton, S Maher, J Lennon 0-1 each.
LAOIS: E Rowland; C Healy, R Mullaney, D Maher; L Bergin, M Whelan, T Delaney; P Purcell, C Stapleton; W Hyland, C Dwyer, J Lennon; S Maher, W Dunphy, PJ Scully.
Subs: P Lalor for Delaney (23), C McEvoy for Bergin (44), R King for Dunphy (44), B Reddin for Stapleton (55, inj), B O'Mara for Maher (64)
WEXFORD: C O'Leary; L Ryan, M O'Hanlon, J Breen; E Moore, P Foley, J O'Connor; L Chin, I Byrne; H Kehoe, S Tomkins, A Nolan; P Morris, C McDonald, L Óg McGovern.
Subs: D O'Keeffe for Breen (44), C Dunbar for Kehoe (54), E Conroy for O'Connor (61), A Kenny for Morris (66)
Ref: S Cleere (Kilkenny).
