Dublin v Wexford - Walsh Cup Final 30.01.16

Ger Cunningham picked up his first trophy as Dubs boss on Saturday evening as his side defeated Wexford in the Walsh Cup final.

Dublin started brightly, and points from 'Dotsey' O'Callaghan, Daire Plunkett, and a Paul Ryan free put Dublin three points up within five minutes. But Dublin wouldn't score again until the 17th minute, and it was Wexford who scored the next two, through Shane Tomkins and a Harry Kehoe free, to trail by the minimum after eleven minutes.

Dublin's fourth point came from another Paul Ryan free, but Conor Dooley had to be alert two minutes later to keep Dublin ahead. David Dunne ran at the Dubs defence before putting Liam Og McGovern in space. The full forward's shot was brilliantly saved by the Dublin keeper.

The teams traded scores as Fionn Ó Riain Broinn's point from play, was followed up by two Harry Kehoe frees to bring Wexford back within a point, before Paul Ryan once again pointed for Dublin. A burst of scoring in the final ten minutes of the first-half, with points coming from Sean Treacy, Dotsey, and Paul Ryan, saw Dublin move into a seven point half-time lead.

David Dunne had the first score of the second-half for Wexford within thirty seconds of the restart, but Paul Ryan put another free over for Ger Cunningham's men, before Johnny McCaffrey pushed Dublin eight points clear. Another free from Ryan had Dublin ten ahead with less than twenty minutes to go.

Wexford, to their credit, battled and McGovern did well to claim a ball close to the Dublin goal, and bury it over his shoulder past Dooley. The Dublin reply was emphatic; Paul Ryan pointed, and then Eamon Dillon scored a goal and a point to quell any potential Wexford come back.

The final ten minutes had the intensity of a January fixture, but Ger Cunningham won't care. It's a first piece of silverware for him as Dublin manager.

The final score at Croke Park was Dublin 1-22 Wexford 1-12.

An edited version of this report was run on the FM 104 Website