Waterford are through to the last four in an enthralling race for the Liam MacCarthy Cup after beating Wexford by 1-23 to 1-19 at sunny Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

With 31,753 in attendance, veterans Kevin Moran (1-3) and Michael 'Brick' Walsh excelled for the victors, while Pauric Mahony clipped over nine frees and Maurice Shanahan also made a telling contribution after coming off the bench. Teenager Rory O'Connor was magnificent for the Slaneysiders.

Na Deise will be paired with either Galway or Cork in tomorrow morning's semi-final draw, but they will possibly have to go into that game next month without the services of influential sweeper Tadhg de Burca, who was sent off on 65 minutes when a straight red card was administered by referee Fergal Horgan, upon the advice of his linesman, for allegedly interfering with substitute Harry Kehoe's helmet. The Clashmore-Kinsalebeg clubman is set for an automatic one-game ban but an appeal against his dismissal is surely imminent.

Moran's goal in the third minute of injury time at the end of the first half gave the winners a five-point interval lead, 1-12 to 0-10, with Wexford left cursing the lapse in concentration that left Mark Fanning exposed, as well as the concession of many needless frees, five of which Pauric Mahony stroked over before the break. The losers also dropped a succession of shots short in the first half.

Waterford started as per match programme, while there were four dramatic late changes to the Wexford XV, with Eoin Moore replacing Simon Donohoe, Rory O'Connor coming in for Aidan Nolan; David Redmond replacing Jack O'Connor; and Podge Doran getting the nod ahead of Kehoe.

The beaten Munster semi-finalists led by four points to two after six minutes, with Moran hitting two and Walsh also on target. Mahony opened their account from a free, which was cancelled out by a tremendous Lee Chin free. Moore fired over Wexford's second.

Mahony's second converted free stretched the gap and a superb Conor McDonald strike had the Slaneysiders back within two by the tenth minute, 0-5 to 0-3. After Jack Guiney tapped over a dubious free to halve the deficit, Jake Dillon pointed instantly and then won a free, which Mahony converted. Mahony's fourth successful free from four left Derek McGrath's side ahead by double scores at the midway stage in the first half, 0-8 to 0-4.

Guiney and Chin pulled back Wexford frees either side of a Darragh Fives score and Paul Morris clipped over the point that reduced the arrears to just two.

Mahony nailed his fifth free after Diarmuid O'Keeffe had made it a one-point game for the last time and Conor Gleeson swept over a sensational Na Deise point on the stroke of 30 minutes. Substitute Nolan replied to Waterford's third successive point, which came audaciously off the hurl of Austin Gleeson.

But the real sting in the tail arrived in added time at the end of the opening period: after Guiney swept over his third successful free from 60 yards, Shane Bennett handpassd the sliothar through to Moran and the Waterford captain beat Fanning from close range with a low shot to leave five in it at the short whistle.

Full back Liam Ryan pointed for the Model County within 30 seconds of the restart and Rory O'Connor brilliantly pulled back another one, belting the sliothar over after emerging from traffic with possession. O'Connor then picked out Chin for Wexford's third successive point since the restart but a brace of Mahony frees had the gap back to four after 48 minutes, 1-14 to 0-13.

Substitute Jack O'Connor cancelled out a long-range Austin Gleeson free and the current Hurler of the Year then pointed from play before Guiney posted his fourth converted free - 1-16 to 0-15 at the three-quarters stage. Points from Moran and substitute Shanahan teased Na Deise's lead out to six with 16 minutes remaining.

Mahony's eighth converted free and Shanahan's second from play restored the six-point differential after O'Keeffe had pulled one back and that was how it stood with an hour played: 1-20 to 0-17.

Waterford were reduced to 14 men when de Burca picked up his red card with five minutes left, but Mahony (free) cancelled out Jack O'Connor's point as the gap remained at six with 60 seconds to go. Substitute Brian O'Halloran helped himself to a brace of injury-time points for the victors.

Trailing by eight after 70 minutes, the Model County clawed back a Guiney point from a free and a 75th-minute Jack O'Connor goal after Guiney's close-range free had been blocked. But their year is over following back-to-back defeats.

Na Deise, meanwhile, have won three consecutive games (against Offaly, Kilkenny and Wexford) since losing to Cork and they march on to the last four for a third successive season.

Waterford - S O'Keeffe; N Connors, B Coughlan, T de Búrca; C Gleeson (0-1), S Fives, P Mahony; J Barron, K Moran (1-3); D Fives (0-1), A Gleeson (0-3, 1f), P Mahony (0-9, 9f); M Walsh (0-1), S Bennett, J Dillon (0-1). Subs - M Shanhan (0-2) for Dillon, B O'Halloran (0-2) for Shane Bennett, Stephen Bennett for Walsh, C Dunford for Barron, T Ryan for Stephen Bennett.

Wexford - M Fanning; W Devereux, J Breen, L Ryan (0-1); E Moore (0-1), M O'Hanlon, D O'Keeffe (0-2); R O'Connor (0-1), L Chin (0-3, 2f); P Morris (0-1), D Redmond, C McDonald (0-1); S Murphy, J Guiney (0-6, 6f), P Doran. Subs - A Nolan (0-1) for Redmond, J O'Connor (1-2) for Morris, H Kehoe for McDonald, S Tompkins for Doran.

Ref - F Horgan (Tipperary)

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