Wexford burn off spirited Kildare late on to secure win

That's how Keith Rossiter will probably be framing it after watching his side take an hour to finally move up a gear and burn off Kildare.

This was Kildare's first provincial SHC tie since losing to Westmeath in Mullingar in 2004 and the Joe McDonagh Cup holders lost no face in defeat.

But the superior firepower of the 2019 champions ultimately allowed them to ease clear with Lee Chin helping himself to 1-12 overall.

Chin only scored his first point from play in the 68th minute and his goal arrived four minutes later as Wexford belatedly turned on the style.

Ross Banville helped turn the screw for the Slaneysiders who had 10 different scorers in all but they will probably feel that they need to be significantly better when they visit Kilkenny next weekend.

Wexford talisman Chin spoke ahead of the game about the team's inconsistency over the years and how it would leave you 'scratching your head' at times.

That failure to lock in and to immediately tune in to the demands of Championship hurling was on show again from the visiting Model men.

Chin himself won a 30m free early in the game - when he was mauled and hauled to the ground by his marker, and shadow, Conan Boran - but somehow drove it wide.

Conor Hearne and Jack Redmond had half chances for goals thwarted by a hungry Kildare defence and Wexford goalkeeper Mark Fanning drove a puck-out over the sideline late in the half, summing up their rustiness.

Even with captain Jack O'Connor finally back in the team after missing the League following knee surgery, it looked like being a long night.

Truth be told, it felt more like a challenge game in that opening half, the sort that the Kerry and Kildare footballers played on the same pitch last winter.

The pitch surface didn't seem to be a whole pile better either since then with a large area in front of the new main stand still struggling for growth and heavily sanded.

Wexford didn't score from play until the 19th minute when Diarmuid O'Leary nailed one from distance.

They still led 0-6 to 0-3 at that stage but it was underwhelming stuff and Kildare took advantage. Well, sort of. A couple of points from Paul Dolan and another from Cian Boran brought them back to within a point.

Then Jack Sheridan finished off the move of the game up to that point when Muiris Curtin gathered a long delivery and fed Sheridan who burst onto it at pace and slammed to the net.

It wasn't exactly a blitzkrieg from Kildare but considering they were raging underdogs beforehand, hitting the interval tied at 1-6 to 0-9 amounted to a big surprise.

They struck nine wides in the opening half also, so it wasn't as if they didn't deserve to at least be on level terms.

Sheridan nudged Kildare ahead again after the restart with a point but when the hosts fell behind soon after, following three Wexford points in a row, they never recovered.

Wexford weren't at their vintage best, or anything close, and just three points separated the teams with an hour on the clock.

But Rossiter's side pulled clear late on with James Byrne and Banville hitting fine points and Chin sealing a slightly flattering win with his stoppage time goal when he raced clear of a Kildare posse.

Scorers for Wexford: L Chin 1-12 (0-10f, 0-1 65); R Banville 0-2; S Roche, J O'Connor, M Fanning (0-1f), E Wickham, D O'Leary, C Hearne, D Reck, J Byrne 0-1 each.

Scorers for Kildare: J Sheridan 1-5 (0-2f); D Qualter (0-2f), P Dolan 0-2 each; T Power, Cian Boran, S Leacy, C McCabe, G Keegan 0-1 each.

WEXFORD: M Fanning; D Carley, C Foley, S Reck; E Wickham, R Lawlor, D Reck; D O'Leary, C Hearne; J O'Connor, S Roche, R Banville; K Foley, L Chin, J Redmond.

Subs: R Higgins for Redmond (46); C Byrne for O'Connor (51); J Byrne for Roche (62); D Clarke for Carley (67).

KILDARE: P McKenna; R Boran, Conan Boran, S Leacy; L O'Reilly, Cian Boran, P Dolan; D O'Meara, C McCabe; J Sheridan, G Keegan, D Guerin; M Curtin, D Qualter, T Power.

Subs: D Melville for Qualter (58); C Keogh for O'Meara (59); R Hogan for Power (66); T Ryan for Curtin (69).

Ref: M Kennedy (Tipperary).