PICTURES: Supporters cheer on Limerick and Wexford in Allianz Football League Division 3 clash

HAVING been beaten by Down's last kick point in their previous outing and drawing with Laois in their opener, this was a crossroads game in Limerick's season as defeat would have left them battling against an instant return to the bottom grade.

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For most of a ding-dong battle against opponents with two victories already under their belt, it looked as if success was going to elude them once again as every time they came within touching distance of grabbing the equaliser, they were zapped by an immediate Wexford response.

Weather-wise, it was one of those frustrating days when a sudden shower or a the wind suddenly dropping after the heavens opened left both sides constantly needing to adapt to the conditions and, after Limerick had kept their shape and concentration to keep in touch as they faced into the stiff first half breeze, it looked as if they might have missed the boat when they didn't get the same assistance after the break.

Going into the three added minutes, they were trailing by four before they threw everything into a barnstorming finish that got them over the line

Struggling to control the kickout against the wind, Limerick were pinned back into their own half from the throw-in and, after watching Wexford's first three attempts at two-pointers fail to hit the target, then fell behind to Seán Nolan's free.

Keeping up the pressure, the Model moved further ahead as Nolan and Dylan Furlong with a two-pointer broke through the hosts' defensive screen to extend the gap to four before the got off the mark when Cillian Fahy burst onto the handpass to find the target.

However, the visitors were dominating both possession and territory and looked like assembling a tidy lead when Cathal Kehoe sent over another double and was followed by a Mark Rossiter single but, going into the second quarter, Limerick steadied their shape off the kickout and, patiently using possession within the opposing half, drew a foul for James Naughton to punish and then tack on one from play.

Coming up to the break, Limerick continued their dominance of primary possession and drew closer with Bob Childs's strike before the Leinster side broke to hit back with points from Tom Byrne and Niall Hughes but, right at the ended of single added minute, Fahy's point reduced the deficit to 0-9 to 0-5 as the sides trooped off to the dressing-rooms.

The rain had descended before they re-appeared for the second half and the wind had strengthened into a blustery gale but Wexford took it on and, despite Naughton striking at the other end off a break, struck back with Liam Coleman's fisted point and then saw Jack Higgins's shot off a burst up the middle crash back off the crossbar.

The wind eased when the sun returned after the downpour but they held their shape long enough against composed Wexford defending for Eliah Riordan to whack over a two-pointer which was quickly followed up by Tony McCarthy's strike on the run to reduce the gap to the minimum.

However, the recovery was punctured within moments as a Wexford break ended with Niall Hughes collect the lay-off from cousin Pádraig to whack into the roof of Jeffrey Alfred's net and, after Bob Childs pointed in reply, the visitors continued surfing the wave as Eoin Porter and Nolan had them leading by five with ten minutes to go.

Winding themselves up for another foray, Naughton sent over a two-pointer free for a breach and was followed by Fahy pointing on the loop but, when Danny Neville's goal shot was smothered by Gavin Sheehan and Wexford made the most of their escape to extend their advantage through points from Nolan's free and Jack Higgins, it looked all over going into added time.

But Limerick refused to give up, pulled themselves back into contact when Naughton judged his range and timing to a tee and then collected Neville's pass off the next movement, jinked into a glimmer of space and saw his shot from a tight angle get the final connection for Peter Nash to glance home the match-winning goal.

SCORERS, LIMERICK: James Naughton 0-7 (1 2x free, 1 2x, 1 free), Peter Nash 1-0, Cillian Fahy 0-3, Bob Childs, Eliah Riordan (2x free) 0-2 each, Tony McCarthy 0-1; WEXFORD: Seán Nolan 0-4 (2 frees), Niall Hughes 1-1, Dylan Furlong (2x), Cathal Kehoe (2x) 0-2 each, Mark Rossiter, Tom Byrne, Glen Malone, Eoin Porter, Jack Higgins 0-1 each.

LIMERICK: Jeffrey Alfred; Oran Collins, Colm McSweeney , Jason Hassett; Tony McCarthy; Killian Ryan, Diarmuid Buckley; Cillian Fahy, Barry Coleman; Seán Clancy, Andrew Meade, Eliah Riordan; Danny Neville , James Naughton, Bob Childs. SUBS: Paul Maher for Colm McSweeney (49 minutes), Peter Nash for Andrew Meade (injured, 53 minutes), Josh Dineen for Seán Clancy (68 minutes)

WEXFORD: Darragh Brooks; Shane Doyle, Gavin Sheehan, Dylan Furlong; Liam O'Connor, Eoin Porter, Glen Malone; Liam Coleman, Niall Hughes; Pádraig Hughes, Cathal Kehoe, Jack Higgins; Tom Byrne, Mark Rossiter, Seán Nolan. SUBS: Eoghan Nolan for Shane Doyle (half-time), Cian Hughes for Tom Byrne (53 minutes), Colin Feeney for Mark Rossiter (67 minutes), Ruairí Martin for Glen Malone (67 minutes).

REFEREE: Christopher Ryan (Galway).