Gaelic Games:You couldn't blame the Cork manager, Gerald McCarthy, for being unhappy as evening settled on Semple Stadium.

Despite missing his three most experienced players because of suspension he had watched his adapted team come within a piece of timber of forcing yesterday's Munster hurling semi-final to a replay for which he'd have had everyone back on board.

Instead he had to come to terms with defeat in this belter of a match and his reflections on the disciplinary system that had helped sabotage his team's bid for a third successive provincial title were predictably recriminatory.

"I think the GAA needs to look at the disciplinary method. We had four players that had unblemished records for 10 years of inter-county hurling. A committee, the CCC, met and proposed a month suspension on them without even a hearing of the players. I think that's scandalous to begin with."

This has become a theme of reactions to the suspensions that followed the pre-match fracas at last month's meeting of Cork and Clare. Last week the Clare chairman, Michael McDonagh, expressed similar views.

Nonetheless, when the new rules on suspensions and discipline were accepted last year few voices were raised against the proposed system.

McCarthy also availed of the opportunity yesterday to take the media to task for what he characterised as unfair coverage of the controversy.

"These eight players were pilloried in the press," he said. "Some of it was an absolute disgrace. I think actually the media surpassed themselves, some of them, in the way that they hung players out to dry."

The Cork manager's fulminations created an acid aftertaste to what had been a wonderful afternoon's hurling, exciting and tightly balanced right up until the last seconds when the champions' replacement corner back, Seaghan Murphy, crashed a stray ball off the crossbar as his team chased an equaliser in injury-time.

The crowds seemed to come reluctantly to Semple Stadium, 36,352 turning up for the latest instalment of the decade's great hurling rivalry.

Maybe Cork's loss of the suspended players played a role in deterring a larger number from making the journey.

Maybe the absence of Donal Cusack, Diarmuid O'Sulli-van and Seán Ó hAilpín persuaded some they would hardly see another electrical storm of the type the counties have been providing in the past six seasons.

Instead lightning struck again on the well-frazzled hurling followers of the two counties and Thurles detonated once more, as another explosive encounter sparked and fizzled.

The match lurched one way and then another like an out-of-control fairground ride, goals providing switchback moments in the whirling action.

There was scarcely time to draw breath before the match

sparked into life. Goals haven't been exactly scarce during Cork-Waterford matches but yesterday they came tumbling onto the field at Semple Stadium like the contents of a badly-packed cupboard.

Maybe the sight of Cork fielding without either O'Sullivan or Cusack, the team's Cloyne back markers, encouraged Waterford to chase green flags.

It was tough on the promising newcomer in goal, Anthony Nash, that his championship debut came stamped with controversy before the start and punctuated by five goals at the end.

But Cork gave as good as they got for most of the match. Kieran Murphy, the full forward rather than the captain, got two goals, Patrick Cronin maintained the goal-scoring touch in his second championship match and Ben O'Connor had a penalty saved in the second half. Helter skelter.

The replies were swift and plentiful. Dan Shanahan maintained the Midas touch of recent years with another brace of goals, John Mullane got back on the trail.

Paul Flynn hit a speciality free into the net. Eoin Kelly galloped free in the 58th minute to scoop what looked like the decisive score, and with five minutes to go there were four points in it.

But Waterford never seem content to win these matches comfortably and they followed up on a couple of tune-out periods that had allowed Cork get up onto their shoulder by conceding three points on the spin.

As in the league final against Kilkenny, Justin McCarthy's team steadied and picked off two fine points to stretch the margin, but they were still at the mercy of a replay when Ben O'Connor stood over the ball with the clock ticking toward the end of the ordained two minutes of injury-time.

Waterford survived, maybe a little wired by the high-voltage challenge from weakened opponents, but they are into a fourth Munster final in six seasons and aware that even broader horizons are in view.

So the hurling championship that began with what looked like more problems than solutions among the counties has put its best foot forward in the past week.

Saturday night saw Tipperary and Limerick serve up another pulsating draw, this time after extra-time.

It was announced yesterday that next week's second replay would be fixed for Sunday at the Gaelic Grounds at 3.30pm.