County champions Sixmilebridge have crashed out of this years race for the Canon Hamilton.
They went down by 1-18 to 1-15 against Cratloe in Cusack Park.
Cratloe led by 1-10 to 0-8 at the break, having played with the breeze.
They led by 0-4 to 0-1 inside the opening five minutes, but the Bridge fought back to level at 0-4 each.
Cratloe then struck for 1-2 in a devastating two minute spell, the goal coming from Conor McGrath after great work from Sean Collins.
The sides traded scores for the remainder of the half, and it was Joe McGraths side who held a five point half time advantage.
Within two minutes of the restart, it was back to a one point game.
A goal from the evergreen Niall Gilligan coupled with two points from Shane Golden were answered by a Sean Collins point for Cratloe to leave it 1-11 to 1-10.
Crucially for Cratloe, they never let the Bridge draw level, always managing to hold their lead.
A brace of points from Conor McGrath and another from Sean Collins stretched the Cratloe lead to 1-16 to 1-12 with 15 minutes to go.
Then came a turning point. Sixmilebridge were awarded a penalty, which Jamie Shanahan struck. It was saved by the Cratloe men, and the resulting "65 went wide.
Cratloe can thank goalkeeper Gearoid Ryan for a point blank save from Shane Golden with just minutes to go, and they half on to claim a 1-18 to 1-15 win.
The result means that both Cratloe and Crusheen are through to the last 8, and they meet in the final game to determine who tops the group.
For the county champions, they face a must win game against Kilmaley to ensure they won't be part of the relegation battle.
The opening game in Cusack Park saw a facile victory for O'Callaghans Mills over St Josephs Doora Barefield in their Senior B Group 2 clash.
The Mills led by 2-5 to 0-6 at the break, with the goals coming from Jamie Lynch and Conor Cooney.
They extended this lead in the second half, with Lynch goaling once more along with Colin Crehan.
A final score of O'Callaghans Mills 4-13 St Josephs 1-8 sees the Mills through to the knockout stages, while St Josephs will be fighting for their senior status in the final round.
In the intermediate championship, Corofin beat Newmarket by 2-18 to 0-10, while Killenena had nine points to spare over Clarecastle in a 2-20 to 2-11 win.
Smith O'Briens were comprehensive 2-22 to 1-10 winners over Meelick
Those results mean that Meelick, Newmarket and Crusheen will contest the relegation playoff after finishing bottom of their groups.
