Carley steers Wexford to win over Offaly

Wexford 1-16 Offaly 1-11, Wexford Park

Paul Carley was on top form as Wexford put together back-to-back league wins by coming from behind to beat Offaly 1-16 to 1-11 at Wexford Park this afternoon.

The Model men joined Clare, Waterford and Clare in a four-way tie at the top of the Division 1A table as man of the match Carley shot 1-4.

Boosted by the inclusion of midfielder Diarmuid 'Gizzy' Lyng, who is back from time out with a thumb injury, Wexford adapted to the bitterly cold conditions quickly.

Lyng pointed from a line ball 50 metres from goal, and while wind-backed Offaly were wayward with three early shots, points from Joe Bergin and Rory Hanniffy handed them a short-lived lead.

Three points in as many minutes from big Stephen Banville, Eoin Quigley, who might have been greedier and gone for goal, and Carley saw Wexford hit the front.

Further scores from Quigley and Banville saw John Meyler's charges into a 0-6 to 0-3 lead - David Franks notched Offaly's third point - but the Faithfuls came with a late flurry in the half.

A pin-point ball in from Derek Molloy saw Joe Bergin crack home a 27th-minute but the young full-forward had to be called ashore soon after with an injury.

Still, points from Paul Cleary, Brian Carroll and Barry Teehan moved Offaly 1-6 to 0-6 ahead by half-time.

Bergin's absence as a target man was severely felt in the second half, however, as immediate points from Rory Jacob, Carley and Michael Jacob rubbed out Offaly's short-lived advantage.

The Hanniffys, Rory and Gary, tried their hardest for Offaly, but the Leinster side could only add five points to their total over the remaining 30 minutes. Brendan Murphy and Molloy were notable scorers.

Carley goaled from a ground shot to really put the pressure on, although the same player missed a 58th-minute penalty.

Points from Rory Jacob, Carley and Quigley, who finished the game by firing over three successive scores, sealed what was a morale-boosting win for Wexford ahead of their trip to Cork next weekend.