Tipperary 3-18 Clare 1-22

Tipperary's goal-scoring touch helped them plot a course for the Munster SHC final, staving off a second half comeback from Clare at the Gaelic Grounds.

Having fallen 1-06 to 0-01 behind early on, Clare staged a gutsy comeback with Championship debutant Colin Ryan providing the scoring thrust, hitting 0-12 in all.

In front of a 20,872-strong crowd, Tipperary blasted out of the blocks and Lar Corbett and Seamus Callanan exploited some slack marking to pick off goals.

The reigning Munster champions led by 2-11 to 1-08 at half-time, with Diarmuid McMahon hitting a late haul of 1-01 and providing a timely boost to Clare.

The Banner defence fell asleep again as John O'Brien collected a diagonal ball from Corbett and fired home Tipp's third goal, moving them nine points ahead.

But Clare dug deep and with Ryan, team captain Brian O'Connell and Tony Carmody coming to prominence, Tipp were made to sweat it out at the finish.

Indeed, newcomer Ryan had a last-gasp pop at goal, top-spinning a close range free towards the Tipp net in injury-time, but experienced goalkeeper Brendan Cummins was well-placed to deflect the effort over the crossbar.

Clare started with two SHC debutants in Ryan and full-forward David Barrett, while Tipperary, quarter-final winners over Cork, boasted a settled side.

The only change being Pat Kerwick's inclusion at the expense of Micheál Webster.

The size of Clare's task was evident in the opening stages as Tipp's forwards showed a clinical edge, taking their scoring chances at will.

John O'Brien, Shane McGrath and Eoin Kelly (free) all registered points before Jonathan Clancy linked with Niall Gilligan to fire over Clare's opening score.

Teenager Noel McGrath, the eventual man-of-the-match, scooped over a fine point off his left for a 0-04 to 0-01 Tipp lead and Declan Fanning added to that, starting and finishing a flowing move with a point from midfield.

The first goal arrived on seven minutes, Corbett fastening onto a long through ball and stretching to flick a brilliant left-handed effort beyond Philip Brennan, with the Clare goalkeeper caught slightly for pace.

Importantly, Clare had the better of the middle part of the first-half, eating into that Tipp advantage.

Corbett followed up on with goal with a point but with O'Connell winning more ball at midfield, Clare rattled off the next four points through Ryan (0-03) and Tony Griffin.

Tipp fell off the boil and were guilty of overcomplicating things in attack as Clare gradually found their feet.

However, Liam Sheedy's Tipp side rallied and they managed to find an extra gear to put Clare under a serious amount of pressure at 2-10 to 0-05.

Noel McGrath and Pat Kerwick showed some great touches and pace as Tipp cantered into a more comfortable lead, with the former also landing a superb sideline cut.

Former All-Star Eoin Kelly was having a relatively quite time of it but he played an important part in Tipp's second goal, flicking the ball clear for Seamus Callanan to burst onto it and end a weaving run with a powerful shot past Brennan.

Tipp's killer instinct was evident in that attack but they dropped their guard somewhat, leading up to half-time, as McMahon inspired Clare back to life with 1-01.

Carmody and Clancy scored a point apiece before Noel McGrath, teed up by Corbett, answered back. At that stage, there were ten points between the sides and Tipp's confidence was still high.

They suffered a setback, however, on the stroke of half-time. McMahon claimed a perfectly weighted ball through from Pat Donnellan, he turned on his heel and rasped a powerful shot beyond Cummins' reach and into the far right corner of the net.

The goal-scorer increased his influence by popping over an injury-time point, and Clare came out strongly for the second half, collecting points through Griffin and Ryan (free) for a 2-11 to 1-10 score-line.

Once again, this semi-final clash then ebbed back in Tipp's favour. Callanan showed his pace as he did the approach work for another Noel McGrath score.

Barrett replied for Clare but Tipp's attack came to the fore once again as both James Woodlock and John O'Brien, a big ball winner for his side throughout the game, landed points.

The nail in the coffin could well have been coming when O'Brien escaped the clutches of James McInerney, collected a Corbett delivery and smashed the ball past Brennan.

But there was a sense that Tipp were not in the clear yet and Clare, showing very good stamina and battling qualities, dug deep to claw their way back.

After Clancy and Kelly swapped points, the tide began to turn as Ryan and McMahon combined to hit three points in quick succession.

Tipp still had a handsome enough lead but there was no evidence of a ruthless streak - they could only manage three points over the closing 12 minutes, with two of them frees.

Clare clearly had the bit between their teeth and youngster Ryan was beginning to wield some influence in open play, landing scores from the left and right.

The talented wing-forward also hit the target with an excellent sideline cut, before the onrushing Niall Gilligan forced a great save from Cummins at point-blank range.

Mike McNamara's men kept pressing and points from Ryan, from two '65's and a free, and a score from play from substitute John Conlon had Tipp's lead whittled down to just 3-17 to 1-21.

While Clare were beginning to show their accuracy in front of goal, Tipperary had moved their wides tally to 13 and Noel McGrath's sixth point of the afternoon was certainly a timely one, two minutes into injury-time.

The buffer was back to three points and it stopped the rot setting in as Cummins ensured Tipp held on to set up a final meeting with Waterford in Thurles on 12 July.

Scorers - Clare: C Ryan 0-12 (0-06f, 0-01 sl, 0-02 '65'), D McMahon 1-02, T Griffin, J Clancy, T Carmody 0-02 each, J Conlon, D Barrett 0-01 each. Tipperary: N McGrath 0-07 (0-01 sl, 0-01f), J O'Brien 1-02, L Corbett 1-01, S Callanan 1-00, P Kerwick 0-03, E Kelly (0-03f) 0-03 each, D Fanning, J Woodlock 0-01 each

Clare: P Brennan; P Vaughan, J McInerney, G O'Grady; P Donnellan, B Bugler, A Markham; B O'Connell (capt), T Griffin; T Carmody, D McMahon, C Ryan; N Gilligan, D Barrett, J Clancy.

Subs used: B Nugent for Carmody (60 mins), J Conlon for Barrett (62), G O'Connell for Clancy (66).

Tipperary: B Cummins; P Stapleton, P Curran, C O'Brien; D Fanning, C O'Mahony (capt), P Maher; J Woodlock, S McGrath; P Kerwick, S Callanan, L Corbett; E Kelly, J O'Brien, N McGrath.

Subs used: B Maher for O'Mahony (h/t), W Ryan for Kerwick (54 mins), B Dunne for S McGrath (63), H Maloney for Callanan (64), P Kelly for E Kelly (67).

Referee: James Owens (Wexford).