Three points in the closing five minutes saw a battling Tipperary snatch a dramatic win over a fiery Waterford side in this gripping tie at Clonmel yesterday.

Tipperary got off to a dream start with a Declan Browne point after three minutes and a well-taken goal from full forward Tom Moylan in the fifth minute as they went on to lead 1-5 to 0-4 at halftime.

It all changed after the break for the rampant Waterford side, with Stephen Cunningham, Emmet Doherty, Richard Power and Mattie Kiely hitting the target.

By the 56th minute they had drawn level 0-9 to 1-6 and then went ahead with an Emmet Doherty point two minutes later. Disaster struck for Waterford when they were reduced to 14 men when John Aherne was sent off. Stephen Cunningham increased their lead in the 65th minute, but this was to be their last score. Tipperary then moved up a gear and Niall Kelly hit the match winner in injury time.

Tipperary: P Ryan; N Kelly (0-1), C O'Dwyer, L Cronin; D Byrne (0-1), D Peters, M Sheahan; L England, E Hanrahan; S Maher (0-1), F O'Callaghan (0-1), N Fitzgerald; K Dempsey, T Moylan (1-0), D Browne (0-5). Subs: D O'Brien for T Moylan, D Hogan for M Sheehan, T Connors for K Dempsey.

Waterford: C Cotter; K Coffey, M Fitzgerald, E Clifford; N Geary, L Hurney, M Aherne; R Power (0-2), W Kavanagh; G Hurney (0-1), M Kiely (0-1), S Cunningham (0-4); E Doherty (0-3), J Kiely, F Halpin. Subs: N Murray for L Hurney, C O'Keeffe for F Halpin, J Aherne for M Aherne, L Dalton for M Fitzgerald, A Aherne for C O'Keeffe.

Referee: B Duff (Kildare).