Ballyhale Shamrocks are through to another All Ireland Club Final after a breathtaking finish.
TJ Reid is yet again the hero for Shamrocks after scoring a last-minute goal, deep into injury time.
The game finished on a scoreline of 2-15 to 20 points.
Slow start for Shamrocks
The Kilkenny side played into the town end in the first half. They had a shaky start, not registering their first point until the 7th minute with a score from TJ Reid.
St. Thomas was quick out of the traps with 3 points within 5 minutes of play with Eanna Burke registering 2 for his side.
Eoin Cody then sent over a mouthwatering point from a sideline cut from inside the 45.
Joey Cuddihy was next to register a score for Ballyhale, narrowing the gap to 2 points after 12 minutes.
St. Thomas were then prevented from bringing that margin back to 3 with a great hook from Colin Fennelly.
A point separated the teams at the first water break with St. Thomas leading on a scoreline of 0-7 to 0-6.
Tick for tack
Conor Cooney was lording it all over the pitch but there was a feeling that his pace and speed couldn’t be sustained for a full 60 minutes.
Éanna Burke registered the 3rd point to his personal tally 5 minutes into the 2nd quarter.
St. Thomas kept applying pressure on the Shamrock’s full-back line but their netminder Dean Mason got them out of jail on more than one occasion with some fantastic saves.
After 24 minutes the scoreline stood at 10 points to 8 in favor of St. Thomas.
Evan Shefflin then reduced that margin to 1 point with 3 minutes left on the clock before halftime.
Colin Fennelly then charged through with a goal on his mind but ended up taking his point with 2 minutes of additional time remaining.
The ever-present Conor Cooney then struck over a point to put the Galway men ahead. Two more scores came in quick succession from Cooney and from Eanna Burke.
TJ Reid then struck a point just before the break.
Hell for leather
Darragh Burke was the first to register a point on the resumption of play with only 25 seconds on the clock.
TJ then tried to respond but was left disappointed when the sliotar hit the post.
Conor Cooney continued to cover ground all over the field in the second half, showing no signs yet of fatigue.
Cooney then attempted to tap over another point from a sideline cut but the ball dropped low and was cleared, resulting in a point for Joey Cuddihy at the other end.
TJ Reid then struck another point 11 minutes into the second half, narrowing the gap yet again to just 2.
James Regan then had a good goal chance but instead opted to put it over the bar.
Shamrocks were then awarded a free but Reid missed the target.
St. Thomas were ahead by 4 points approaching the 4th quarter but you still felt that Shamrocks had had some magic up their sleeves.
Tired limbs
Fatigue had then crept into both teams but St. Thomas was showing more signs of slowing down.
A high tackle resulted in a free for Shamrocks and Reid made no mistake this time in sending it straight over the bar.
Just as Eoin Reid was being introduced to the action, Shamrocks were awarded a penalty.
Ballyhale were two points down when TJ stepped into position.
This brought the drama to fever pitch as the crowd knew that if TJ could find the net, Shamrocks would be in another All Ireland Final.
At that moment, he showed why he is considered to be one of the greatest hurlers of all time by belting the ball straight past the keeper and sending the Ballyhale fans into a frenzy.
