Liam Doyle was among the early scorers for Down at Wexford Park

Down took control early in the game and points from Liam Doyle and John Clarke helped them into a five-point lead after 32 minutes.

But Wexford hit back to trail 0-7 to 0-4 at the break.

Adrian Flynn netted on 37 minutes and Mattie Forde scored Wexford's second goal four minutes later to send Down heading to defeat.

Down: B McVeigh, C McGovern, G McArdle, M Cole, D O'Hanlon, L Doyle, R Murtagh, D Gordon (capt), J Lynch, J Fegan, K McKernan, D Hughes, J Clarke, C Magee, R Sexton.