Both sides had to contend with the horrendous conditions, with Waterford starting with a Darragh Corcoran point. Wexford keeper Ivan Meegan pointed two frees into the breeze, with Waterford’s Conor Murray responding from play.

On ten minutes a good Glen Malone pass put Ben Brosnan through, and he finished to the corner of the net: 1-2 to 0-2. Jasons Curry and Gleeson chipped in with Murray to tie it up with five minutes left to the break.

Wexford’s Niall Hughes restored the Wexford lead almost immediately, and the visitors held that advantage to the break, 1-3 to 0-5.

Waterford lost Corey Kennedy to the sin bin before the break and the visitors took advantage with a Niall Hughes goal on the restart, a huge boost in the conditions.

Neither side could manage a score as the weather deteriorated, with Wexford goalscorer Brosnan getting the sin bin on 52 minutes.

Corcoran hit another Waterford point on 57 minutes, making it 2-3 to 0-6, and Wexford had another man sin-binned when Gavin Sheehan departed on 60 minutes; Niall Hughes was sin-binned five minutes later but Waterford couldn’t capitalise.

Murray made it 2-3 to 0-7 on 66 minutes and Curry added another free in injury time, but Wexford held out.

Scorers for Waterford: C. Murray (0-3); D. Corcoran, J. Curry (frees)(0-2); J. Gleeson (0-1).

Scorers for Wexford: N. Hughes (1-1); B. Brosnan (1-0); I. Meegan (0-2, frees);

WATERFORD: P. Hunt, D. O Cathasaigh, B. Looby, R. Flynn, D. Corcoran, S. O’Donovan, D. Ryan, C. Kennedy, M. Kiely, D. Guiry, J. Curry, J. Gleeson, C. Murray (c), B. Lynch, S. Curry.

Subs: D. Fitzgerald for Kiely (50); A. Jones for Looby (52); N. McSweeney for Gleeson (68); A. O'Sullivan for Flynn (72)

WEXFORD: I. Meegan M. O’Connor, G. Sheehan, S. Nolan, R. Devereux, B. Malone, C. Carty, E. Nolan, N. Hughes, G. Malone, J. Stafford, T. Byrne, M. Rossiter, J. Bealin, B. Brosnan.

Subs: C. Devitt for Nolan (46); R. Crosbie for Byrne (61); E. Porter for Rossiter (65); R. Barron for Carty (70).

Referee: J. Ryan (Tipperary).