Offaly U20 star Adam Screeney. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
O'Neills.com Leinster U-20 hurling championship quarter-finals
DUBLIN 0-18 WEXFORD 0-14
OFFALY 1-28 LAOIS 2-9
By Paul Keane
Senior or U-20 activity, it doesn't seem to matter for Offaly's prodigious attacker Adam Screeney who blasted 15 points to help secure his county's O'Neill's.com Leinster U-20 HC semi-final place.
The Kilcormac-Killoughey talent oozed quality when introduced against Meath in the Joe McDonagh Cup last weekend, scoring a goal and setting up another.
He was even more influential this evening in Tullamore where his 15-point haul helped Offaly record a big win over Laois.
The provincial title holders missed out on top spot in their group on scoring difference, costing them automatic qualification for the semi-finals, but made sure there was no quarter-final slip up.
They'd registered six points before Laois got off the mark and were 0-18 to 1-4 ahead at the break, Screeney's excellence on the frees complimented by points from Cathal King, Shane Rigney, Colin Spain and Dan Bourke.
Cormac Byrne's 28th minute goal for Laois kept them in it and when the same player added another 1-1 after the restart, reducing the deficit to seven points, Laois hinted at a revival.
Offaly put the result beyond doubt with five Screeney points in a row between the 44th and 50th minutes and a goal from Bourke, another Offaly senior, left them well in the clear.
With group winners Kilkenny and Galway already through to the semi-finals, Dublin became the final team to advance when they got the better of Wexford at Parnell Park.
Senior attacker Diarmuid Ó Dúlaing drilled nine points as Dublin came good with a final quarter burst.
The 2020 champions found themselves deadlocked with 2023 finalists Wexford for the ninth time at 0-11 apiece after 42 minutes.
But seven points for the hosts from there, compared to just three from Wexford, eased Dublin through to next week's semi-finals.
Wexford will be frustrated with how the game slipped away from them in the closing quarter.
Free-taker Sean Rowley sniped six first-half points for the Model County, the last of which left them with a two-point lead approaching the interval, 0-8 to 0-6.
Dublin finished the half strongly with scores from Neil Hogan and two Ó Dúlaing frees to take a narrow 0-9 to 0-8 lead at the break.
The sides were level twice more at 0-9 and 0-11 apiece and it looked set to be a close run thing throughout the entire second-half.
But four Dublin points in a row between the 46th and 49th minutes - from Ó Dúlaing, 3, and Ollie Gaffney - put the Sky Blues in the clear and they never looked in trouble after that.
Brendan Kenny drilled back-to-back points for the Metropolitans in the closing minutes, forcing Wexford to go for goals as they chased the game.
But they couldn't grab the major they needed and David Purcell's earlier goal chance for Dublin was the closest either team came to raising a green flag.