Tipperary 3-17
Galway 3-16

Lar Corbett's injury-time point saw Tipperary edge an absolute classic All-Ireland SHC quarter-final this evening against Galway at Croke Park.

In a thrilling game from start to finish, six goals were registered as the teams were drawn level on no more than ten occasions but it was three points in the closing five minutes from Liam Sheedy's men that made all the difference to set-up a semi-final showdown with provincial rivals Waterford.

Despite Eanna Ryan netting the game's first goal on ten minutes, Galway trailed at half-time after Eoin Kelly and Seamus Callanan had done likewise for Tipp in the latter stages of the half.

A mix-up allowed Damien Hayes to bring Galway level with a 37th minute goal, but Gearoid Ryan responded with a third Tipp goal.

Another harsh penalty decision against Tipperary at Croke Park looked to have their season hanging on by a thread, but crucially they hit the last three points of the game to finally kill of Galway's challenge and make their way into the last four.

Tipp impressed with their start which saw them race 0-4 to 0-1 in front after nine minutes as 20-year-old Patrick Maher pointed their opener inside the first 50 seconds. Lar Corbett came deep to double the advantage from beyond centre-field, before Eanna Ryan got Galway off the mark in the fifth minute.

Eoin Kelly introduced himself to the game with a free two minutes later and the corner-forward doubled his tally in the next attack after swinging over a sweet score from the left flank.

That was all wiped out in a flash though when a long ball in saw Kevin Hayes break possession for Ryan, who raced through and blasted a brilliant finish to the top-corner of the net which left Tipp goalkeeper Brendan Cummins with no chance.

Damien Hayes slipped away from his marker to puck over and give the Tribesmen their first lead on 12 minutes, but Liam Sheedy's men responded well with Kelly releasing Noel McGrath for his first score.

A Kelly free restored Tipp to the lead, but a masterfully struck '65' from Joe Canning squared the sides for the third time in 18 minutes.

A minute later the Premier men struck their first goal when some great approach play by Patrick Maher afforded Kelly the space inside and when once the former passed to his forward colleague there was only going to be one result as he rattled the Galway net.

Galway didn't panic and stuck to the plan of looking for Canning inside and when it worked the points were racked up. A fine side-line cut from the Portumna ace was backed up by a simple free to cut the deficit down to the bare minimum.

The 21-year-old phenomenon then provided Damien Hayes with the chance to level, which he took, and by the 27th minute the Connacht side were back in front as Ger Farragher launched over a trademark score from centre-field.

A great diagonal ball from David Burke to Canning saw the full-forward dragged down by Paul Curran in front of the posts and he dusted himself off to puck over the resultant free.

Galway's lead was stretched to three by Iarla Tannian with five minutes to go in the half, but that was before Tipp decided to end it with a flourish.

Another nerveless Kelly free and a brilliant individual score from Brendan Maher brought the difference down to one once more as half-time approached, but Tipp saved their best for last.

With their inside men making the Galway backs look static at times, another long ball in saw Noel McGrath get a brilliant touch to direct the sliotar into the path of unmarked substitute Seamus Callanan, who had all the time and space to fire Tipperary into a 2-8 to 1-9 lead at the interval.

Kelly looked to help Tipp pick up where they left off by converting another placed ball, however a lapse in defence at the other end would cost his team the lead.

What looked a simple ball for Paul Curran to deal with ended up turning into disaster for Tipp as pressure from Damien Hayes saw the corner-forward somehow win back possession right in front of the Tipp goal and he had no hesitation in burying in another goal to level the game.

Kelly (free) and another accurate long-range effort from Farragher kept things even until a Canning free steered Galway into the lead in the 42nd minute.

Just a minute later the game's fifth goal arrived and there was an element of luck when Patrick Maher's hand-pass to nowhere managed to release Gearoid Ryan straight through the centre and he blasted in off Galway 'keeper Colm Callanan, who was wrong-footed by the wing-forward's shot.

Galway hit back with an immediate point, but the concession of three unanswered points from Brendan Maher, Gearoid Ryan and Corbett looked to have them in some trouble heading for the final quarter.

However, all those scores were erased after Galway were awarded a penalty when Joe Canning got himself dragged down in the square and the referee gave horizontal arms. With power behind it, Canning blasted to the corner of the net to bring it back to a one-point game.

A Hayes point levelled the teams for an incredible seventh time and when substitute Kevin Hynes struck over a brace of quick points Galway looked the more likely team to progress.

Kelly brought his tally up to 1-7 with a free that kept things on a knife edge, but a white flag from Aongus Callanan looked to have Galway on their way until three unanswered points in the final five minutes won the game for Tipp.

Substitute John O'Brien and Gearoid Ryan drew the game for the tenth time heading into injury-time when Tipp dug deep for find Pa Bourke inside and when he offloaded to Thurles Sarsfields club-mate Corbett the moment of truth arrived and nerves of steel were demonstrated.

Tipperary - B Cummins; P Stapleton, P Curran, M Cahill; D Fanning, C O'Mahony, P Maher; B Maher (0-2) , D Young; G Ryan (1-2), P Maher (0-1) , S McGrath; N McGrath (0-1), L Corbett (0-3), E Kelly (1-7, 6 frees). Subs: S Callanan (1-0) for Young (30 mins), J O'Brien (0-1) for N McGrath (53 mins), C O'Brien for Fanning (62 mins), P Bourke for P Maher (65 mins)

Galway - C Callanan; D Joyce, S Kavanagh, O Canning; D Barry, T Óg Regan, D Collins; G Farragher (0-2), D Burke (0-1); E Ryan (1-1) , K Hayes, A Smith; D Hayes (1-3), J Canning (1-5, 1-0 pen, three frees, 65, one lineball), I Tannian (0-1). Subs: K Hynes (0-2) for K Hayes (51 mins), A Callanan (0-1) for Ryan (53 mins), J Lee for O Canning (67 mins), N Healy for Smith (69 mins).

Ref: J Owens (Wexford) Tweet

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