St Thomas 0-18 2-11 Ruairi Og, Cushendall
Corner-back David Sherry emerged as the unlikely game-breaker for St Thomas' with a 65th minute point to secure their return to the AIB All-Ireland club SHC final.
The scores were tied deep into stoppage time after a thrilling Cushendall recovery when Sherry pointed for the 2013 winners to seal the narrowest of wins.
The score, reminiscent of Domhnall O'Donovan's famous point for Clare in the 2013 drawn All-Ireland decider, decided an exciting contest at Parnell Park.
The Galway champions looked to be on the road to a straightforward win when they led by seven points at half-time.
But Cushendall, beaten finalists in 2016, fought back to level terms twice in the second-half and it remained deadlocked in stoppage time before Sherry split the posts for the winner from out on the left wing.
It means St Thomas' will return to Croke Park and the final on March 17 when they will face Ballyhale Shamrocks or Ballygunner.
Cushendall were aiming for just a second All-Ireland semi-final win from 11 outings though that one previous win did come in 2016.
They got a great start too and led 1-00 to 0-01 after top scorer Neil McManus' fifth minute penalty conversion.
Full-forward Sean McAfee was adjudged to have been fouled by Cathal Burke, who was booked, and McManus roofed the penalty.
The Ulster champions scored just one point from play in the entire first-half, a McAfee effort in the 24th minute.
They played with a sweeper and dropped Alex Delargy back but it didn't initially bother St Thomas' who were back level by the 15th minute before striding confidently clear.
Watch Full-Time Highlights as St Thomas’ beat Cushendall in the AIB Club Championship Semi-Final pic.twitter.com/PMRPkHOFXT
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They scored six points without reply between the 15th and 24th minutes to open up a significant 0-09 to 1-01 advantage.
Darragh Burke and Eanna Burke added four more points between them as the south-Galway outfit took a deserved 0-13 to 1-03 half-time lead.
But the game turned on its head in the third quarter as Cushendall, aided by a stiff wind, came roaring back into it to dramatically level the game.
They outscored St Thomas' by 1-06 to 0-02 in the first 20 minutes of the second-half to level the game, drawing cries of encouragement from their vocal support.
McManus was excellent from placed balls while midfielder Fergus McCambridge helped himself to 1-01 in that period.
His 42nd minute goal was a beauty with sub Conor Carson delicately flicking the ball to the onrushing McCambridge who netted from close range.
Carson flicked another sumptuous pass over his shoulder to Paddy McGill for a point as the St Thomas' defence found itself under siege.
St Thomas' response to being pegged back to level terms was to reel off points from Darragh Burke and Regan but back came Cushendall again to level it at 2-11 to 0-17.
That's how it remained until Bernard Burke worked the ball out of a ruck on the left wing in the 65th minute to feed Sherry who did the rest.
St Thomas': Gerald Murray; David Sherry (0-01), Cathal Burke, Cian Mahoney; Donal Cooney, Shane Cooney (0-01, 0-01f), Fintan Burke; James Regan (0-02), David Burke; Conor Cooney (0-01), Darragh Burke (0-06, 0-04f), Bernard Burke (0-02); Eanna Burke (0-03), Brendan Farrell, Kenneth Burke (0-01).
Subs: Damien McGlynn (0-01) for K Burke (33), Sean Skehill for Farrell (58).
Ruairi Og, Cushendall: Eoin Gillan; Sean Delargy, Martin Burke, David Kearney; Eoghan Campbell (0-01), Aaron Graffin, Paddy Burke; Fergus McCambridge (1-01), Neil McManus (1-06, 1-00 pen, 0-04f, 0-02 65); Ryan McCambridge, Eunan McKillop, Donal McNaughton; Paddy McGill (0-02), Sean McAfee (0-01), Alex Delargy.
Subs: Conor Carson for R McCambridge (h/t), Stephen Walsh for S Delargy (54).
Referee: Paud O'Dwyer (Carlow)
