Rave Fethard pipped
Wallace levelled with his sixth, two minutes after the re-start. However, after Prendergast pointed at the other end, John Gartland intercepted a mishit Seán Foley pass and fired it back past the Fethard stopper to the net.
Ardmore went the next 16 minutes without a score as Fethard took over. Wallace registered a trio of frees before Garrett Foley burst onto a puck-out and nailed the equalising point with twelve minutes left (2-5 to 0-11).
Twice Prendergast put Ardmore ahead with dead-balls from tight angles on the left of goal but both times Wallace responded in kind.
As the game ticked into added-time the high-scoring talisman was fouled by Kenny Murphy and he sent over what looked to be the winning free from right on his own ‘65.
That should have been the moment that stuck in the Fethard memories for years to come but these gallant warriors were denied by Gartland’s genius right at the death - a score that left an air of inevitability circulating around Croke Park the minute it flew over the crossbar.
Fethard: Seán Foley; Martin Power, Rúairí Tubrid, Daniel Mullan; Richard Waters, Kevin Rowe, Joe Sutton; Garrett Foley (capt., 0-1), John Tubritt; Edmund Power (0-1), Mark Wallace (0-14, 12 frees, 1 ‘65), Daire Barden; Ciarán Dwyer, Graham O’Grady, Mikie Dwyer (0-2). Subs. - Darren Foley for O’Grady (43), Bryan Power for Tubritt (50), Brian O’Donoghue for Power (60+3), Edmund Power for O’Donoghue (71), O’Grady for C. Dwyer (71), also Jesse Foley, Jimmy Sutton, Conor O’Donoghue, John Rice, Christopher Molloy, Seán Sutton, Shane Tubrid, James Dillon, Ricky Rowe, Paul Foley, Kieran Furlong, Adam Swan.
Ardmore: Jack Walsh; Daniel Power, Declan Prendergast (capt.), Niall Hennessy; Gavin Williams, Seamus Keating (0-1), Richie Hennessy; Kenny Murphy, Wayne Hennessy; Seán Barron, David Gartland (0-2), Michael Cronin; James Flynn, Seamus Prendergast (1-8, 0-7 frees), John Gartland (2-0). Subs. - James Kennedy for Cronin (31), Kieran Conway for Power (43), Stephen Keating for W. Hennessy (70), Michael Cronin for Kennedy (74), Hennessy for Williams (80).
Referee: Shane Hynes (Galway).