Waterford 2-12 Galway 1-21

Conditions ruled out a classic but the 4,000 strong crowd at Fraher Field was treated to a competitive encounter which Galway would have won by more but for the concession of two soft goals late on.

The Tribesmen played into a strong wind in the opening half but still went in three points up at half-time, 1-08 to 0-08, with Cyril Donnellan getting the goal in the 28th minute. The weather got worse in the second half but Galway didn't let up, extending their lead with a Niall Healy point 20 seconds after the re-start.

In corner-back and captain Ollie Canning they had a player who brought huge solidity to defence and with 10 minutes left, Galway led by 1-16 to 1-10.

But Waterford came back into it. Eoin Kelly capitalized on a defensive mix-up to goal and set up a tense finale and he got another minutes after, scoring directly from a 65, though Dan Shanahan may be claiming the slightest of touches.

Shane Walsh had his goal bound shot saved acrobatically by Galway goalkeeper Colin Callanan but late points from Canning and Donnellan eased the Galway nerves and they could be happy with a good day's work.