Kilkenny set up a potential rubber match with defending All Ireland hurling champions Tipperary today with a 2-19 (25) to 1-16 (19) victory over Waterford today at Croke Park before a crowd of 31,634. Richie Hogan's 2 goals bookended the first half scoring the Cats, who led 2-10 to 1-7 at the break. Though Waterford rallied late in the second half behind the inspirational play of veteran John Mullane, it was not enough to prevent the "black and amber" from reaching the finals for a sixth consecutive year. A third consecutive Tipp-Kilkenny final match-up looks all but certain as their semi-final opponent, Dublin are prohibitive underdogs due to the loss of 4 key players to injury, beginning with their Leinster final loss to Kilkenny.
In the Minor hurling semi-final match-up between Clare and Galway, the Tribesman from Connaught got a tying goal off a scramble in the large square as the last minute of regular time wound down to force an extra session. Galway pulled away in the second session of extra time to a 1-23 (26) to 1-18 (21) victory over the Banner to secure a place in the Minor final. Throw-in for the Minor final on the first Sunday of September is at 1:30pm (8:30am EDT) when Galway will take on the winner of next Sunday's second Minor semi-final between Dublin and Waterford.
