Resilient Limerick score gritty Allianz Football League win away to Wicklow

LIMERICK senior footballers bounced back from their defeat to Louth six days earlier when securing a gritty 1-13 to 1-9 victory over Wicklow in their Allianz Football League Division 3 contest at Aughrim on Saturday.

The win moves Limerick onto six points in the Division 3 table ahead of their Round 5 meeting with Westmeath.

Down two players to black cards, playing into the wind, two of their starting defenders off injured and their lead cut from five points to two with eight regulation minutes to go, Limerick were staring a second successive National Football League defeat in the face in Aughrim against a Wicklow side intent on easing their Division Three relegation worries.

But unlike their late collapse the previous week against Louth, Limerick held their nerve and their shape to record their third win out of four on a scoreline of 1-13 to 1-9.

Despite trailing by three early on, they were back level when Josh Ryan finished a breakaway move by Hugh Bourke and Brian Donovan to the net. And even though they were caught by Eoin Darcy's second-quarter penalty, they recovered to lead 1-8 to 1-3 at the break.

Wicklow used the breeze to chip away at the gap and there was just two between the sides when Iain Corbett and, just after him, Ryan went to the sinbin.

But Wicklow failed to unpick resolute Limerick defending as a pair of breakaway points from Bourke eased the pressure and kept Limerick hopes of promotion to alive as they face into next week's assignment against Division Three favourites Westmeath.

SCORERS: LIMERICK: Josh Ryan 1-4 (0-4 frees), Hugh Bourke 0-4, Brian Donovan, Adrian Enright, Peter Nash, James Naughton, Diarmuid Kelly 0-1 each; WICKLOW: Mark Jackson 0-3 (3 frees), Eoin Darcy 1-0 (penalty), Mark Kenny 0-3 (2 frees), Dean Healy, Andy Maher 0-1 each.