Five late points take Tipperary to victory

Late points from substitutes Shane McDermott and Peter Lambert saw Tipperary collect their first brace of points at Dungarvan on Saturday.

A strong finish by the premier county side which saw them score five points without reply in the closing 14 minutes saw off the home side's challenge after it looked for long periods, particularly in the opening half, that Waterford would come out on top in this low-key contest.

Waterford held a four points lead 30 minutes into the game but Tipperary fought back after they got a grip at midfield to trail by only two points at the interval.

Waterford had raced into a three points advantage with 15 minutes remaining but the sides were level on three occasions in the closing 15 minutes before McDermott and Lambert sealed victory for Tipperary with late points.

TIPPERARY: P Ryan; W Morrissey, D Byrne, N Sheehan; S Collum, N Kelly, K Maguire; K Mulryan, S Maher (0-1); T Connors (0-2), C O'Dwyer, J Butler (0-1); T Ormonde (0-1), E Hanrahan (0-2), D O'Brien (0-4). Subs: S McDermott (0-2) for Connors, P Morrissey for Butler, P Lambert (0-1) for O'Dwyer.

WATERFORD: P Houlihan; G Walsh, J Phelan, J Moore; S Briggs, L Hurney, M Aherne; L Dalton, K O'Keeffe; G Walsh (0-2), J Hennessy (0-2), M O'Brien; E Doherty (0- 3), G Hurney (0-2), S Cunningham (0-2). Subs: S Barron (0-1) for O'Brien, P Power for Dalton, B Harty for Hennessy.

Referee: T Lyons (Kerry).