The key to Tipperary's victory in the All-Ireland quarter final against Galway on Sunday evening last was their ability to finish strongly at the end of both halves. That, and the restructuring of the team which saw Shane McGrath returned to his rightful place at midfield.

Having learned from the experience of the '09 final against Kilkenny, Liam Sheedy's men fashioned a late surge from their spent bodies at the end of each 35 minutes to blitz Galway and come away with the slenderest of margins in what was an epic battle adorned with six goals and thirty three points.

Tipperary's All-Ireland quarter final record had not been a good one and they have Galway to thank for defeats in 2000 and 2005. But, the story was to be a different one in 2010 as Sheedy's men broke the quarter final defeat sequence with a display of character and guts which was formed from deep within. They won ugly ball and rushed headlong into the tackle to rescue a game they seemed to have been in control of on a few occasions. Worringly perhaps, Tipp failed to drive on and put Galway to the sword when they had the initiative.

It was one of those game which could have gone any way and on many occasions during the game, Waterford must have felt that their opponents in the All-Ireland semi-final on August 15th would be of the maroon variety. Indeed, Galway had every right to feel that extra time could have been their lot, but as the legs began to wane, Tipperary's bench came to the rescue John O'Brien and the impressive Pa Bourke instigating the revival which carried the Premier County over the winning line.

The possession stakes ran to 51% for Tipp 49% for Galway. Only one point in it at the end, it could hardly have been a tighter and more gripping contest, with end to end pulsating fare making it the game of the championship so far by a country mile.

Crucial to Tipp's second half revival was the move of Shane McGrath to midfield when Seamus Callanan arrived on the forty. He, together with the equally as impressive Brendan Maher, broke the Galway stranglehold at midfield and helped spark a revival which ultimately led to Tipp snatching three points in the last three minutes to pilfer the game. Throw in the debut performance of Gearoid Ryan in Croke Park; the Templederry lad seemed to love the freedom of headquarters as he bagged 1-2 from wing forward and got through a huge amount of work.

Galway hit back at Tipp with big scores each time a lead began to appear. Eanna Ryan's goal in the 10th minute brought them level after Tipp had started very well.