Loughmore come from the dead to defeat Borris-Ileigh in FBD Insurance Tipperary SHC semi-final

Loughmore Castleiney 1-18

Borris-Ileigh 1-15

Loughmore Castleiney staged a remarkable last quarter comeback to defeat Borris-Ileigh in the FBD Insurance county senior hurling semi-final at Semple Stadium this afternoon - the mid men look dead and buried, but rallied magnificently to up-stage their rivals who seemed to have all the answers until that crucial last period.

A magnificent finale saved what had been a poor outing but Borris-Ileigh will surely wonder where it all went wrong for them. They were four points in front going into the last quarter and lost the game by three as they managed only two points in injury time, by which stage the game had been won and lost.

A dour first half had Borris-Ileigh playing wind assisted and they made full use of the advantage. A goal from Jamesa Devaney in the 5th minute gave them a great lift and they led at the half time water break by 1-4 to 0-2 - their points coming from Conor Kenny (2), Brendan Maher and Eddie Ryan, while Evan Sweeney and Liam Treacy were on target for Loughmore Castleiney.

The second quarter proved to be deadlocked with 0-5 apiece materialising, but the game took on a real edge and four names entered the referees book - two each - as the sides got to know each other.

John McGrath had all five of Loughmore Castleiney's points, but they were hanging on the coat tails of the Borris' lads who were enjoying the outing that little bit more. Kieran Maher (2), Jerry Kelly and Eddie Ryan had the Borris-Ileigh points and while the five point advantage didn't exactly flatter them - they shot seven wides also in the half - it was a decent enough lead, especially considering the conditions.

Rain showers and wind were the order of the day and certainly contributed to this clash not reaching the expected levels -Loughmore Castleiney did not get to their expected levels in that first half and would need to up the ante if they were to return to the final.

Four points apiece were gathered up in the third quarter also, but the main talking point was James McCormack's save from Liam Treacy right before the break - McCormack advanced to smother Treacy's effort, a green flag from which would have reduced the deficit to two points. Instead, the Borris' cushion remained at four 1-13 to 0-12 with Ciaran Connolly grabbing a late point for Loughmore Castleiney.

Another goal chance went abegging in the 20th minute when Ciaran McGrath shot wide, but by that stage Loughmore had found their range with scores from Ciaran Connolly, Tomas McGrath and John McGrath leaving two in it.  Liam and John McGrath had points to tie up the game with six minutes to go and when John shot them in front, all the momentum was with Loughmore Castleiney - the second yellow card and dismissal of Borris' Kieran Maher not helping their cause at all. 

John McGrath had doubled the lead when Ciaran McGrath was hauled to the ground for a Loughmore penalty which John sent ot the net - Loughmore Castleiney were home and hosed and ready to face Thurles Sarsfields in the county final in two weeks time.