By Paul Keane
Dublin 2-19 Wexford 0-12
A gulf in class was clear at Croke Park where Dublin cruised through to a Leinster SHC semi-final showdown with holders and All-Ireland champions Kilkenny next month.
Ger Cunningham’s side were full value for the 13-point win which was made possible by eight points from David Treacy as well as first-half goals form Eamonn Dillon and Darragh O’Connell.
Their reward is a June 11 clash with back to back All-Ireland champions Kilkenny who will be impressed by the pace and power of the Dubs as well as their defensive strength.
The Division 1A outfit conceded just 12 points in total and only seven of those came from open play as captain Liam Rushe expertly marshalled their rearguard.
Niall McMorrow scored four points from play up front and was named Man of the Match as he rose above the rain sodden conditions in front of 13,066.
Wexford had a poor league campaign in Division 1B and though they started brightly, leading 0-5 to 0-4, they soon slipped out of the contest.
Dillon scored a cracking 17th minute goal after a storming solo run to put Dublin into a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
They had four first-half goal chances and inevitably hit the net a second time approaching half-time through O’Connell when he was well fed by Mark Schutte after a high catch.
Dublin led 2-10 to 0-8 at the break and Wexford offered a brief resurgence in the third quarter with four points to just two from Dublin, reducing the deficit to six points.
But that was as good as it got for Liam Dunne’s side who were over run in the final 20 minutes or so and didn’t score at all themselves in that time.
Dublin scored the last six points of the game including one from Ryan O’Dwyer who came on as a sub in what his first appearance since suffering head injuries when attacked in the UK last October.
Wexford’s woes were summed up by the fact that they scored just a point from open play in the entire second-half.
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Dublin scorers: D Treacy (0-8, 0-7f, 0-1 65), N McMorrow (0-4), E Dillon, D O’Connell (1-0 each), D O’Callaghan, M Schutte, J McCaffrey, D Plunkett, C Bennett, R O’Dwyer, P Ryan (0-1 each).
Wexford scorers: C McDonald (0-6, 0-4f), L Og McGovern (0-4), H Kehoe, E Moore (1 65) (0-1 each).
Dublin: C Dooley; E O’Donnell, C O’Callaghan, O Gough; C Crummey, L Rushe, S Barrett; D O’Connell, J McCaffrey; D Plunkett, N McMorrow, D Treacy; D O’Callaghan, M Schutte, E Dillon.
Subs: R O’Dwyer (0-1) for O’Connell (57), C Bennett (0-1) for Schutte (60), P Schutte for McCaffrey (69), O O’Rorke for O’Callaghan (70), P Ryan (0-1) for Dillon (71).
Wexford: C O’Leary; L Ryan, M O’Hanlon, E Conroy; E Moore, P Foley, D O’Keeffe; J O’Connor, H Kehoe; A Kenny, P Morris, D Dunne; L Og McGovern, C McDonald, P Doran.
Subs: C Dunbar for Kenny (h/t), I Byrne for Morris (47), E Martin for Moore (66).
Referee: F Horgan (Tipperary).
