Tipperary 1-28 Wexford 3-20: 14-man Tipp outlast Model

Tipperary finished with 14 men and had three goals disallowed, but edged past Wexford in a classic All-Ireland semi-final, 1-28 to 3-20.

What more can you say about the hurling championship? We're out of superlatives.

Any fears that Sunday's meeting would not live up to the drama of Kilkenny's win over Limerick on Saturday were thoroughly quelled, as the final four stage threw up another epic encounter.

The match started at a frantic pace, with the Yellowbellies bursting into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead within three minutes of throw-in.

Goal chances soon came thick and fast. In the fourth minute, Shaun Murphy's goal-bound shot was blocked by Ronan Maher, and Brian Hogan parried a Rory O'Connor effort minutes later.

Up the other end, Michael Breen thought he had raised the first green flag of the contest, but Jason Forde was adjudged to have fouled Matthew O'Hanlon in the build-up.

When the first goal came in the 10th minute, it was hard to believe that so much drama had unfolded in so little time. Niall O'Meara unlocked the Model defence with a hand-pass to Seamus Callanan. The Drom-Inch man seemed to have let it over-run, but pulled on it first time from a tight angle to blast it by Mark Fanning.

It was the seventh consecutive championship match Callanan has found the goal - and Tipp were in business.

However, the Leinster champions retained their composure, responding with scores to make their way back into the lead. Indeed, after accumulating eight points, eight different scorers had chipped in for Wexford.

In the 25th minute, the Yellowbellies recorded their first goal of the game. Shaun Murphy played a cross-field ball over to Conor McDonald, who stepped inside the cover and blasted it into the net.

With Tipp being overrun in the middle third, Liam Sheedy brought Seamus Callanan further out the field.

It seemed to have its desired effect, as the Premier looked to finish the half strongly.

When Lee Chin stood over a long-range free, he looked to add to Tipp's woes. It seemed to drop short as Brian Hogan caught the ball, and seconds later it was in the Wexford net via John McGrath. Dramatically, hawk-eye was called upon, but not for the goal. To the shock of the Tipp crowd, Chin's free was deemed to have gone over for a point, in what was a four-point swing, and Wexford went in 1-14 to 1-12 ahead at the break as a result.

While Tipp burst into a one-point lead at the second half, the turning point soon came. John McGrath was given his marching orders for swinging at Damien Reck. Within two minutes, Lee Chin had stuck a low shot into the corner of the net. Suddenly, Wexford were five points to the good.

Nonetheless, the 14 men of Tipp weren't going to throw in the towel. Five points in succession brought them level.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Tipp had all the momentum.

However, the Model soon landed another clean blow. Paul Morris broke in from the right, played it across to McDonald who bundled it into the net. After a lengthy discussion with the umpires, referee Seán Cleere decided there was no square ball, and the goal was allowed.

Nonetheless, Sheedy's charges showed character in abundance once again to draw level, thanks to two superb long-range points from Noel McGrath.

There was to be further drama, as Jake Morris (for the second time in a week) put the ball in the net in injury-time, but Cleere called it up for a Tipperary free, which Jason Forde tapped over to give the Premier a two-point lead.

Jake Morris would add another, and it was to be Tipp's day, and they're through to face Kilkenny in the All-Ireland final in three weeks' time.

_

Attendance: 61,852

Referee: Seán Cleere (Kilkenny)

Scorers for Tipperary: Jason Forde 0-12 (0-8 frees, 0-2 65s), Séamus Callanan 1-2, Noel McGrath 0-4, John O'Dwyer 0-3, Ronan Maher 0-2, Michael Breen 0-1, Ger Browne 0-1, Willie Connors 0-1, Jake Morris 0-1, Mark Kehoe 0-1.

Scorers for Wexford: Lee Chin 1-7 (0-6 frees, 0-1 65), Conor McDonald 2-1, Rory O'Connor 0-3, Paul Morris 0-2, Diarmuid O'Keeffe 0-2, Liam Ryan 0-1, Paudie Foley 0-1, Kevin Foley 0-1, Liam Óg McGovern 0-1, Jack O'Connor 0-1.

Tipperary

1. Brian Hogan

2. Cathal Barrett

7. Ronan Maher

5. Brendan Maher

4. Barry Heffernan

6. Padraic Maher

23. Séamus Kennedy

9. Michael Breen

10. Dan McCormack

11. John 'Bubbles' O'Dwyer

8. Noel McGrath

12. Niall O'Meara

15. John McGrath

14. Seamus Callanan

13. Jason Forde

Subs:

Willie Connors for Dan McCormack (52nd minute)

Ger Browne for Michael Breen (54th minute)

Mark Kehoe Niall O'Meara (56th minute)

Alan Flynn for Barry Heffernan (65th minute)

Jake Morris for John O'Dwyer (67th minute)

Wexford

1. Mark Fanning

17. Damien Reck

3. Liam Ryan

6. Matthew O'Hanlon

4. Simon Donohoe

5. Paudie Foley

7. Shaun Murphy

9. Diarmuid O'Keeffe

10. Liam Óg McGovern

12. Jack O'Connor

11. Conor McDonald

8. Kevin Foley

13. Paul Morris

14. Lee Chin

15. Rory O'Connor

Subs:

Aidan Nolan for Shaun Murphy (52nd minute)

Joe O'Connor for Damien Reck (56th minute)

David Dunne for Jack O'Connor (58th minute)

Cathal Dunbar for Rory O'Connor (64th minute)