Callinan lands injury-time point to seal Tipperary victory

All-Ireland minor hurling semi-final/Tipperary 0-19 Kilkenny 3-9: An injury-time point from substitute Séamus Callinan pushed…

All-Ireland minor hurling semi-final/Tipperary 0-19 Kilkenny 3-9: An injury-time point from substitute Séamus Callinan pushed Tipperary into the All-Ireland minor hurling final at the expense of Kilkenny.

Kilkenny, who had trailed for most of the game, finally looked good to make the decider against Galway when John Mulhall smashed in their third goal, giving his side a 3-8 to 0-13 lead with 13 minutes left.

However, there was only one team in it on the scoring stakes after that. Gearóid Ryan, Callinan, Pat Bourke, Thomas McGrath and Tony Dunne carved out scores for Tipp, with just a single Richie Hogan free the reply for Kilkenny (0-18 to 3-8).

Tipp were the form team in the first half, with captain Joey McLoughney (0-3) and Bourke (0-4) doing most of their scoring.

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Kilkenny were led into the game by three Richie Hogan points.

A Michael Murphy goal drew the sides level in the 27th minute, but Tipp edged it at the break, 0-9 to 1-5.

Tipp continued to boss the game in the second half. Points from Ryan, Thomas McGrath and Niall Bergin saw them add to their lead, but Kilkenny were not finished. They upped their efforts, and gradually clawed back the Premier County side. A goal from substitute Shane Brennan got them on their way, before a Hogan brace left them in front for the first time by the 46th minute, 2-8 to 0-13.

Tipp's late surge saw the game level at the end of the hour, but Callinan sealed victory when he turned his man and slotted over a point in time added on.

KILKENNY: C McGrath; P Nolan, K Mooney, J Fitzpatrick; P Murphy, D Langton, PJ Rowe; M Kelly, M Bergin; M Murphy (1-0), J Mulhall (1-2), M Walsh; C Fennelly (0-1), R Hogan (0-6, 2 frees), JJ Farrell. Subs: S Brennan (1-0) for Kelly (half-time), N Waldron for Murphy (44 mins), K Grehan for Walsh (53 mins).

TIPPERARY: J Ryan; M Cahill, P Maher, B Maher; E Hogan, T Stapleton, J O'Keeffe; J McLoughney (0-3, 1 free, 1 65), G Ryan (0-2); S Hennessy (0-1), T McGrath (0-3), N Bergin (0-1); P Bourke (0-6, 1 free), T Dunne (0-1), T Dalton. Subs: N McGrath for B Maher (half-time), M Gleeson for Hennessy (39 mins), S Callinan (0-2) for Bergin (47 mins), S Bourke for Dalton (55 mins).

Referee: G Hoey (Clare).