Waterford pushed Tipp all the way before succumbing to a 2-11 to 2-7 defeat in Dungarvan.

The Premier County will now face Kerry at the semi-final stage, while the determined Decies get a second chance to advance to the last four when they face the winners of the Clare V Limerick loser's play-off (with Cork awaiting).

There were 808 paying punters at this game and they were treated to a wonderful Wednesday night's entertainment, with Conor Gleeson (Waterford) and James Bergin (Tipp) each netting twice.

Having fallen behind to an early goal, Tipp fought back well to lead at half time by 1-7 to 1-3.

A brilliant Gleeson major in the seventh minute gave Na Deise the lead after the first two points had been traded, 1-1 to 0-1.

However, at the end of the first quarter, Bergin (JK Brackens) struck a stunning goal for the Premier County, who added a couple of quickfire points to lead by 1-4 to 1-2 after 18 minutes.

The visitors notched three of the next four points to carry a four-point cushion into the break.

Three minutes after the restart, the cat was amongst the pigeons again as Waterford full forward and Nire clubman Gleeson fired his second goal to close the gap to just a single point, 1-8 to 2-4. The next two points were swapped and Tipp led by the minimum at the three-quarters stage.

The drama was palpable at Fraher Field as the hosts reeled off the next two points to claim a 2-7 to 1-9 advantage with ten minutes to go.

But there was a further twist as the Premier County tied the scores up again before Bergin also nailed his second three-pointer of the night to give the visitors a 2-10 to 2-7 advantage with only six minutes left.

Tipp also floated over the final score of the game to progress to a semi-final meeting with the Kingdom, who thumped Clare in Ennis tonight.

Tipperary - J Brady; D Owens, L Ryan, C O'Shaughnessy; W Connors, C O'Mahony, J Skehan (0-1); T Nolan (0-1), S Quirke (0-1); E Maloney (0-2), P White (0-2, 1f), R Peters (0-1); J Bergin (2-0), J Kennedy (0-2), P Maher (0-1). Subs: P Murphy for L Ryan, L Fahy for C O'Mahony, D McGrath for R Peters, J Delahunty for J Bergin.

Waterford - K Dwane; C O'Neill, J Guiry, M Cronin; M Shine, E O'Halloran, J Mullaney (0-2); C Curran (0-1), C Prunty; A Donnelly, C Murray, J Allen (0-1f); D Guiry, C Gleeson (2-1), D Lyons. Subs: M Sweeney (0-2) for J Allen, P Whyte for A Donnelly.

Referee - K Murphy. Tweet

Most Read Stories