There was drama aplenty in Croke Park as reigning champions Cuala came from behind twice to finish level with Na Piarsaigh in a gripping All-Ireland SHC final that went all the way to extra-time.

Unlike the football equivalent earlier in the day, there was little to separate these two talented teams from start to finish and the scoreboard read Cuala 1-22, Na Piarsaigh 2-19 at the end of a pulsating encounter.

The Shane O'Neill managed Na Piarsaigh looked to have one hand on the Tommy Moore Cup when leading by three points as the clock ticked down in normal time but Sean Moran came to Cuala's rescue with a goal from a free in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

It was widely anticipated in advance that this meeting of the competition's last two winners would serve up plenty of entertainment and it didn't disappoint as the sides finished deadlocked on 1-16 apiece.

It was then the turn of David Treacy to save his team's bacon with a last gasp levelling free at the end of extra-time.

A David Breen goal at the start of extra-time had helped the Munster standard bearers to regain the initiative but they were caught on the line for the second time and a replay will be required to decide the destination of the coveted silverware for 2018.

Cuala were quickest out of the traps as David Treacy opened the scoring from a placed ball and Colm Cronin added a second point before Kevin Downes got Na Piarsaigh up and running.

Mattie Kenny's side shaded the early exchanges but four unanswered points from Shane Dowling and Adrian Breen saw the Limerick men take an 0-8 to 0-6 lead into the break.

The Treacy brothers, David and Sean, traded points with Peter Casey at the start of the second-half before the latter pounced for the game's opening goal in the 34^th minute.

A Dowling point soon after left the Dalkey outfit trailing by four but they responded in the best possible fashion with scores from Jake Malone, Sean Treacy and Darragh O'Connell.

Colum Sheanon got them back on level terms when sending over a fourth point in-a-row before David Treacy's seventh free of the contest edged them back in front.

The pendulum swung back in Na Piarsaigh's favour, however, when David and Adrian Breen raised white flags.

With the game very much in the melting pot, Shane O'Neill's side looked to have one hand on the silverware when outscoring the holders by three points to win but Cuala earned a reprieve thanks to Moran's goal.

As events panned out, extra-time failed to produce a winner and the two teams must now do it all over again. 

Cuala - S Brennan; O Gough, Cian O'Callaghan, P Schutte; D O'Connell (0-1), S Moran (1-0f), J Sheanon; J Malone, S Treacy (0-3); D Treacy (0-12f), C Cronin (0-1), Colum Sheanon (0-1); M Schutte (0-1), Con O'Callaghan (0-1), N Kenny (0-1). Subs: S Stapleton for J Sheanon, N Carty for N Kenny, C Waldron for J Malone, S Timlin for S Treacy, D O'Flynn for C Cronin, S Treacy (0-1) for N Kenny.

Na Piarsaigh - P Kennedy; J Boylan, M Casey, N Buckley; A Dempsey, C King, K Kennedy; S Dowling (0-6, 4f), W O'Donogue; R Lynch, D Breen (1-1), D Dempsey (0-2); A Breen (0-4), K Downes (0-4), P Casey (1-2). Subs: M Foley for N Buckley, G Brown for J Boylan, K Ryan for K Kennedy.

Referee - C Lyons.

It ended level after extra time between Na Piarsaigh and Cuala in the All-Ireland senior club hurling final! Check out the full-time highlights here! pic.twitter.com/QjI8TaH93L

- The GAA (@officialgaa) March 17, 2018

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