Tipperary 1-18 Waterford 1-20 matchtracker

Shane Murray followed every poc and every tackle of Waterford's outstanding victory over Tipperary in RTÉ.ie's live text matchtracker. Read how the game unfolded from the bottom up.

FULL-TIME: Tipperary 1-18 Waterford 1-20

WOW! What a match. After the one-sided nature of Kilkenny's scintillating victory over Cork, this was a spectacle worthy of the semi-final stage. Both sides toiled and grafted, and matched each score for score throughout an absorbing second half. This game had everything, with some outstanding performances from both sets of players, and it's unfortunate that there has to be a loser. Tipp will rue the slow start that saw them trail by five points after just nine minutes, but Waterford showed their determination to pull through with Eoin Kelly again proving to be their match-winner with an outstanding personal haul of 1-10. So Davy Fitzgerald has taken Waterford to the promised land of an All-Ireland final, where the three-in-a-row chasing Cats await. Let's hope the final is every bit as good as this. Thanks for joining us here on RTÉ.ie. See you for more of the same on 7 September.

70 + 2 mins Kelly points with the goal at his mercy with the game well into injury-time, but his personal tally of 1-10 has been a tremendous return on another exceptional afternoon. 1-18 to 1-20

70 + 1 mins Dunne points from distance to reduce Waterford's lead to the minimum. 1-18 to 1-19

70 mins Tipp have a late goal correctly ruled out by referee Kirwan with loads of bodies in the square.

69 mins Waterford's Gary Hurney on for Jamie Nagle.

68 mins Waterford's Eoin Kelly slots over another free to extend his side's lead to two points. 1-17 to 1-19

66 mins Waterford's Paul Flynn comes on for Mullane for his 44th Championship appearance.

65 mins Callinan is denied a certain goal as Hennessy saves brilliantly from his stinging drive, and substitute Webster fails to capitalise on the breaking ball and Waterford eventually put it behind for a '65. However, Kelly misses the chance to level the match with four minutes remaining.

64 mins Tipp's Pa Burke comes on for James Woodlock.

63 mins Kelly puts the Deise into the lead again with a well taken free. 1-17 to 1-18

62 mins Kennedy scores for Waterford and the sides are level again. 1-17 to 1-17

61 mins Another score for Waterford, but things are getting so hectic I missed the scorer. Will try to get it later. Got it, Michael 'Brick' Walsh was the man, leading by example as always! 1-17 to 1-16

59 mins Pat Kerwick replaces Maloney for Tipp and immediately signals his intent with a fine score. 1-17 to 1-15

56 mins GOALS! I asked for one and we got two in the space of 60 seconds. First of all Kelly is first to react after Cummins saves inside the square to tap home to put Waterford in front. However, within seconds, Callinan capitalises on defensive uncertainty to hammer home at the other end. Great stuff! 1-16 to 1-15

53 mins It really is end-to-end, a tribute to both sets of players, and Molumphy comes good for Waterford again to reduce the Tipp lead to one. 'Rip-roaring stuff', as match commentator Ger Canning suggests! 0-16 to 0-15

52 mins Waterford's Jack Kennedy comes on for Seamus Prendergast.

52 mins Corbett adds another. Again I feel like asking the boys to slow it down, but it's great stuff to watch. Some of the marksmanship on show is of the highest order. The game could do with a goal though! 0-16 to 0-14

51 mins A third point from midfield maestro Shane McGrath restores Tipp's lead. 0-15 to 0-14

49 mins Michael 'Brick' Walsh steps up to the plate with a superb score from halfway to pull his side level. 0-14 to 0-14

49 mins Tipp's Benny Dunne comes on for John O'Brien.

48 mins Kelly taps over yet another free for Waterford. 0-14 to 0-13

46 mins As hoped, the game has certainly maintained the pace and intensity of the closing stages of the first half and Kelly adds another for Tipp, again from a free after a foul by Aiden Kearney. 0-14 to 0-12

45 mins Waterford's reply is instant and Mullane slots over at the other end. 0-13 to 0-12

44 mins Kelly's seventh gives Tipp a two-point lead. 0-13 to 0-11

43 mins Michael Webster is introduced by Liam Sheedy to bolster the Tipp attack, replacing Butler.

43 mins O'Mahony gives Tipp the lead for the first time in the game with a fine point. 0-12 to 0-11

42 mins Tipp's Shane Maher restores parity with his first ever Championship point, a fine effort from out the field. 0-11 to 0-11

42 mins Tipp's Paddy Stapleton is on as a blood sub for Eamonn Corcoran.

39 mins The rain begins to fall but it's still nip and tuck at the start of the second half.

38 mins Eoin Kelly is fouled when charging forward by O'Mahony and the Mullinahone man makes no mistake with the free. 0-10 to 0-11

No changes in either side at the start of the second half. A crowd of 53,635 is at Croke Park today.

HALF-TIME: Tipperary 0-10 Waterford 0-10

The sides are all-square at the break following a scintillating end to the first half. Waterford stormed into a commanding 0-06 to 0-01 lead after nine minutes, but their indiscipline allowed Tipp to get a foothold in the game, six of the Premier County's scores coming from frees. The final few minutes were frantic as both sides went tit-for-tat on the scoreboard, and if the second 35 can match the intensity and skill of the closing ten minutes then we are in for a treat. It's anyone's game at this stage.

35 + 3 mins Tipperary's Kelly scores to square the match again. 0-10 to 0-10

35 + 2 mins Kelly puts Waterford back in front with a well taken free from the left. 0-09 to 0-10

35 mins A fifth point for Kelly levels the match for Tipp, his first from play. 0-09 to 0-09

34 mins Callinan adds another. Slow down lads.....it's hard to keep up. 0-08 to 0-09

33 mins Seamus Callinan slots over his first point of the afternoon. 0-07 to 0-08

33 mins Kelly responds at the other end for Waterford. 0-06 to 0-08

32 mins Corbett is denied a goal opportunity when he is bravely stopped by Hennessy and Declan Prendergast.

31 mins Kelly breaks the mould with a point to reduce Waterford's lead to a solitary point. 0-06 to 0-07

30 mins It's been 10 minutes since either side have scored with the game descending into a scrappy affair. Not what you'd expect from these fine sides.

26 mins Lar Corbett is booked by referee Diarmuid Kirwan for a high and reckless shoulder on Eoin Murphy, who receives lengthy treatment before returning to action.

25 mins Ken McGrath, switched from full-back to centre-back, finds Shanahan brilliantly with a searching ball from the half-back line. However, despite taking expertly, he strikes left and wide.

22 mins Dan Shanahan races clear of the Tipp defence with the ball on the deck, but goalkeeper Brendan Cummins and Shane Maher combine to crowd him out and deny him a clean shot at goal.

20 mins Shane McGrath steps up from midfield and points. After a lack-lustre start, Tipp are right back in it. 0-05 to 0-07

19 mins Tony Browne is booked for a needless trip with the hurl and Kelly slots over. 0-04 to 0-07

18 mins McGrath loses Conor O'Brien and notches his second point of the day. 0-03 to 0-07

16/17 mins Tipp's Eoin Kelly rises high above two Deise markers to claim the ball in impressive style, before being fouled and slotting over the free to cut Waterford's lead to three points. 0-03 to 0-06

15 mins O'Mahoney hits Tipp's first wide of the day, pulling a sideline ball from the left narrowly wide of Clinton Hennessy's right hand post.

14 mins Tipp's Conor O'Mahony reduces the defecit to four points with a well executed placed ball from halfway. 0-02 to 0-06

9 mins Tipp's Eoin Kelly registers the Premier County's first point from a close range free. 0-01 to 0-06

8 mins Eoin McGrath pops up on the right, turns and splits the posts for the score of the game thus far. It's all Waterford at this stage. 0-00 to 0-06

7 mins Mullane is on fire in the early stages, and the Waterford man claims the ball brilliantly at centre-field and races clear of his marker to point excellently. 0-00 to 0-05

6 mins Good hustling in midfield from Mullane and Co allows Stephen Molumphy a clear sight of the posts and he makes no mistake. The Munster champions are rattled and have yet to have a sight of a score. 0-00 to 0-04

4 mins Tipp's Conor O'Brien is shown a yellow card and Kelly is given the easy task of converting a 21 metre free. 0-00 to 0-03

2 mins Waterford's Eoin Kelly settles his side with a pointed free from, while John Mullane knocks over another second later. 0-00 to 0-02

3.30pm Game on, Waterford playing into the Hill 16 end.

Waterford: C Hennessy; E Murphy, K McGrath, D Prendergast; A Kearney, T Browne, K Moran; M Walsh (capt) (0-02), J Nagle; D Shanahan, S Prendergast, S Molumphy (0-02); E McGrath (0-02), E Kelly (1-10, 8f), J Mullane (0-03).

Subs used: J Kennedy (0-01) for S Prendergast (52 mins), P Flynn for Mullane (67), G Hurney for Nagle (69), S O'Sullivan for Shanahan (70+3).

Tipperary: B Cummins; E Buckley, P Curran, C O'Brien; E Corcoran, C O'Mahony (0-01, 1f), S Maher (0-01); J Woodlock, S McGrath (0-03); S Callinan (1-02), H Maloney, J O'Brien; E Kelly (capt) (0-08, 6f), S Butler, L Corbett (0-01).

Subs used: P Stapleton for Corcoran (42-48 mins, blood sub), M Webster for Butler (43), B Dunne (0-01) for O'Brien (49), P Kerwick (0-01) for Maloney (58), P Bourke for Woodlock (64).

Referee: Diarmuid Kirwan (Cork).

3.25pm: Conditions are surprisingly calm at HQ and the pitch shows no ill-effects from yesterday's football quarter-final between Tryone and Dublin, which was played in constant rain.

3.20pm Both sides line out as selected. From their perch in the corner of the Hogan/Davin Stands, the RTÉ Sunday Game panel offer their predictions.

Clare man Anthony Daly believes: 'If Waterford were to click they could win, but there are too many imponderables so I'll go for Tipp.'

Galway man Cyril Farrell agreed: 'It has looked like a Kilkenny v Tipp final all year and I'll go for a Tipp win by three or four points.'

Read Seamus Leonard's match preview.