Galway 1-15 Tipperary 1-17

Audio

• Brian Carthy reports on Tipperary's 2-point win over Galway in the Allianz NHL Division 1.
• Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy tells Brian Carthy that the win over Galway was a match that could have gone either way.

Tipperary booked their place in the Division One final and ended Galway's hopes of reaching the decider as the Premier County eked out a two-point victory at Pearse Stadium.

It was a physical encounter at the Salthill venue as the visitors ensured that Galway full-forward Joe Canning would not be afforded the latitude he had enjoyed in previous games.

It took just 18 seconds for the hosts to register their first point, which came from the stick of Niall Healy.

Tipp centre-forward Seamus Callinan looked close to the form he showed in last year’s Championship his 16th point helped the Premier to a 0-05 to 0-03 lead by the 22nd minute mark.

Tempers then spilled over after Galway took exception to a heavy, but fair, shoulder on Joe Canning. When the dust had settled, Tipperary full-back Paul Curran and Galway midfielder Eoin Lynch were making their separate ways off the after being yellow-carded.

Their absence made little difference to the pattern of the first-half and Tipp went into the break leading by 0-08 to 0-06.

But Galway started the second half in excellent fashion and hit three unanswered points before Niall Healy netted to open up a 1-09 to 0-08 lead seven minutes after the interval.

Tipp, however, refused to lie down and, inspired by three Callinan points and a Lar Corbett goal, gave them a one-point lead, 1-13 to 1-12.

The winners had Eamonn Buckley red-carded for an apparent off-the-ball incident that left Canning clutching his hand.

Galway laid siege to the Munster side's goalmouth in the closing stages but failed to land the goal that would have won them the game.