Tipperary 1-19 Cork 0-19

Tipperary overcame Cork in this Munster SHC quarter-final but were pushed all the way at Semple Stadium by a gutsy Rebel outfit.

Tipp dominated the opening half but failed to make the most of their chances and so led by just 0-13 to 0-09 at the break.

Seamus Callanan's goal soon after the restart looked to have put the Premier County in the driving seat.

Cork did not give up, though, and had Pat Horgan converted his penalty opportunity the result could have been different.

Eoin Kelly, who had been named in the Tipp starting line-up despite having missed the entire league campaign with a back injury, announced his return to the inter-county scene with a fine point with barely 19 seconds on the clock.

In the opposite corner was young Noel McGrath, but the former minor starlet did not look out of place on his senior Championship debut and matched Kelly's first-half three-point tally.

But no-one was as influential as Cork's Ben O'Connor, and it was his contribution of seven points that ensured there would be only four points separating the teams as they changed ends.

The Rebels were forced to play most of the game without their established corner-back Shane O'Neill after he suffered concussion and need stitches over his eye following an early collision.

Tipp's Callanan enjoyed an excellent campaign in 2008 and the omens were looking good again for the 21-year-old Drom & Inch clubman when his somewhat scuffed shot made its way past Dónal Óg Cusack in the Cork goal with the second half less than a minute old.

The majority of the 35,000-strong crowd at the Thurles venue may have thought the game was up for Cork, who are still labouring under the shadow of the four-month winter strike.

But hurling on Leeside has never lacked heart, and that was to the fore again as Denis Walsh's charges dug deep.

There was much talk of how well Aisake Ó h'Ailpín would perform after the former Australian Rules player was named at full-forward.

He had a quiet enough first-half, but came more into the game after the break and a point from the giant Na Piarsaigh clubman, allied to Ben O'Connor's continued accuracy from the dead ball, brought the score to 1-14 to 0-11.

Cork then felt aggrieved when Timmy McCarthy flashed the sliotar past Tipp goalkeeper Brendan Cummins, only for referee Barry Kelly to call play back for a penalty.

It was hard to see any infringement in the build-up, and Cork's frustration with the decision grew when Horgan's drilled effort was brilliantly rebuffed by some part of Cummins' stick or anatomy.

Despite the setback, Cork continued to press, but two points from substitute Benny Dunne helped keep the defending provincial champions on top.