Leitrim 3 – 7 Wexford 2 – 9
A Ryan O'Rourke penalty conversion deep in added time secured victory for Leitrim over a Wexford side that had taken the initiative 14 minutes earlier thanks to a Niall Hughes goal.
Hosts Leitrim got off to a tonic start when hat-trick hero Ryan O'Rourke finished a well-worked opening-minute move to the Wexford net. But Wexford dominated the exchanges for the next 20 minutes and levelled matters with two Sean Nolan points and one from Richie Waters.
Leitrim again got their noses in front on the 21-minute mark when Ryan O'Rourke got behind the Wexford cover to drive a low effort past Wexford goalkeeper Rory Turbitt. Darragh Rooney stretched Leitrim's lead when he whipped over a point three minutes later.
Wexford's Darragh Lyons and Leitrim's Ryan O'Rourke traded points at opposite ends by the 33 minute mark before a late Ben Brosnan point for the visitors saw Leitrim go in at the interval with a 2-02 to 0-05 advantage.
After the restart Leitrim, goalkeeper Nevin O'Donnell extended his side's lead when he put over a 37th-minute 45. But Wexford's Glen Malone split the Leitrim posts shortly afterwards to keep his side in the hunt.
Barry McNulty kept Leitrim in the driving seat when he fired over on the 42nd-minute mark but a Brosnan goal a minute later reduced Wexford's deficit to the minimum and signalled the start of a strong fight back.
After Darragh Rooney gave Leitrim some breathing space with a 45th-minute point, Wexford answered with points from Liam Coleman and Kevin O'Grady to level matters three minutes later. But Ryan O'Rourke got Leitrim noses in front again when he fired over a 57th-minute effort.
The drama continued with Wexford's Niall Hughes hammering home a goal two minutes later to put his side in front for the first time and silence the home crowd.
Wexford held onto their two-point advantage after Ryan O'Rourke, from a free, and Páraic Hughes swapped points at the end of 70 minutes.
But Leitrim won a late penalty when Barry McNulty was fouled and Ryan O'Rourke's conversion dramatically maintained their undefeated league run.
Leitrim: Nevin O'Donnell (0-1, '45'); Cathal McHugh, Donal Casey, Aidan Flynn; James McGreal, Mark Diffley, Jack Foley; Jack Gilheaney, Donal Wrynn; Shane Quinn, Barry McNulty (0-1), Ryan O'Rourke (3-3, 1f, 1-0 pen); Riordan O'Rourke, Darragh Rooney (0-2), Evan Sweeney.
Subs: Tom Prior for Quinn (51); James Rooney for McGreal (56); Mark Plunkett & Paul Keaney for D Rooney & Sweeney (60); Adam Reynolds for McHugh (67).
Wexford: Rory Turbitt; Eoin Porter, Gavin Sheehan, Darragh Lyons 0 – 1; Dylan Furlong, Páraic Hughes (0-1), Glen Malone (0-1); Liam Coleman (0-1), Niall Hughes (1-0); Richie Waters (0-1); Eoghan Nolan, Liam O' Connor; Kevin O'Grady (0-1), Sean Nolan (0-2), Ben Brosnan (1-1)
Subs: Mark Rossiter for Waters (33); Tom Byrne for E Nolan (HT); Shane Petit & Conor Kinsella for S Nolan & Furlong (60); Conor Carty for O' Grady (71).
Referee: Mark Dorrian (Donegal)
