Time-lapse photography apart, it's hard to imagine a speedier rate of development than that of the hurlers of Wexford this season. A three-goal, second-half tally pulled yesterday's Guinness All-Ireland semi-final out of the fire despite a widespread perception after 35 minutes that the match was burnt beyond recognition .

Yet two fine strikes by the evergreen Larry O'Gorman - who sorted out centrefield and had a hand in all three goals - and an acrobatic finish by an otherwise subdued Rory McCarthy bridged the gap and nearly saw the outsiders to an unimaginable victory.

Wexford's appetite for the battle, particularly in the desperate closing stages, was outstanding and demonstrated the feisty win against Limerick was no freak. And by the end - apparently signalled 50 seconds early by referee Pat O'Connor - the second best team in Leinster had nearly claimed the scalps of both Munster finalists.

Seamus Gardiner, head of the GAA's referees review group, later confirmed O'Connor had intended to play just three minutes of injury time, rather than the four erroneously signalled.

In any event, Tipperary have to be disappointed they could not protect the eight-point lead they twice built up in the second half. Yet again the Munster champions posted an unconvincing display. At times in the first half and shortly afterwards they looked in a different class but once the underdogs got a bit of a run going on the scoreboard, Tipp's response was worryingly anaemic.

Wexford's display was built from the back. As captain Darragh Ryan began to lift the team with his constant eclipse of namesake Declan and booming clearances, the spirits soared. Beside him, David O'Connor, the big under-21 corner back, was immense.

Time after time, he won ball and drove it back down the field. Lar Corbett got in for an early chance but his eighth-minute shot hit the post with Damien Fitzhenry at full stretch but thereafter O'Connor ruled his corner.

A competitive start was just what Wexford needed and they got it, keeping pace with the favourites until late in the first half when Tipperary began to motor. Their first six points from play and from six different players told you everything about the contrasting potential of the attacks. Wexford's scores were coming from frees, with only Michael Jordan apparently capable of fluent scoring from play.

With the bit between their teeth Tipperary pulled away. Eddie Enright was having a stormer at centrefield and beside him, Tommy Dunne was winning the purists' battle with Adrian Fenlon. John Carroll had been switched from wing back to centre forward and his abrupt style was effective in breaking up the play. The prodigious Eoin Kelly was again belying his youth with an assured display in the right corner.

But it was the half-back line that established the platform for Tipperary's best phases.

Eamonn Corcoran and David Kennedy were as commanding as we have come to expect and on the left wing, Paul Kelly performed wonders for a man effectively operating on one leg, his mobility impaired by the hamstring injury that had put his fitness into question all week.

The big blow was struck in the 31st minute. By then Tipp had established a three-point lead. Back in front of Tipperary's goal, Wexford's corner forward Paul Codd was penalised for using his head like a drill bit. Goalkeeper Brendan Cummins dropped a massive free into the opposing goalmouth, Declan Ryan helped break it and Carroll's venomous pull gave Fitzhenry no chance.

This was actually a fair tribute because the Wexford goalkeeper - whose deadeye penalties took the team to this stage - was inspired in the first half.

Three times he kept out excellent goal chances from Declan Ryan, twice, and Carroll to help Wexford get to the interval seven points behind.

Tipperary presumably knew to expect a backlash of some sort but they could have been forgiven for wondering how it was going to manifest itself. Wexford's primary source of scores from Paul Codd's frees had begun to dry up as the pressure built. Fenlon had regressed from a good start, Larry Murphy was making little headway with Kennedy and only Jordan posed a genuine threat in attack.

Changes were made and they proved very effective. Centrefield was replaced, with O'Gorman and Ger Coleman moving in and Fenlon going to the 40 and Murphy over to the wing. Twelve minutes after half-time the goal rush started. Fitzhenry's long free broke to the onrushing O'Gorman and his finish was unstoppable.

Four minutes later O'Gorman did the preliminary work and his ball was flicked on by Martin Storey, whose terminated retirement raised the team and initiated - or at least coincided with - the comeback.

As the ball hung in the air McCarthy rose and batted it home.

This threw down the challenge but it still didn't look sufficient. Tipperary had stretched the lead to five by the 66th minute with classy points from the impressively productive Mark O'Leary and Tommy Dunne.

The one tactical mystery in Wexford's endgame was that it took until the 65th minute to bring on Gary Laffan, who had looked lively as a first-half blood substitute. With so much ball travelling down route one, it was odd that the team's most eminent high-ball specialist was kept under wraps for so long.

Only a minute on the field and he broke Darren Stamp's doodlebug of a ball down for O'Gorman to get a marvellous diving strike into the net. Fenlon added a point and the match was now gone out the window for Tipperary. Minutes left and only a point ahead, their centrefield had developed paralysis, their forwards were being overwhelmed with Liam Dunne now firing as energetically as his full backs.

Wexford had time to miss three good chances before the inevitable Jordan popped over the equaliser in the 73rd minute.

"You'd take a draw," said Tipp manager Nicky English cheerfully afterwards. And who'd have thought over the past fortnight that they'd hear him say that.