Stabannon Parnells booked their place in the Junior Championship quarter final as they encountered little resistance in defeating Cuchulainn Gaels by 5-16 to 0-5 at Louth Village on Friday evening.

The Mid Louth side went into this Group 1 encounter as hot favourites to join Glen Emmets in qualifying and in truth they were never in trouble at any stage. Their reward is a meeting with Glyde Rangers in the last eight.

Stabannon played into the elements in the first half but dominated the opening stages as goals from Daniel Bannon and Niall Cluskey (penalty) saw them lead by 2-4 to 0-2, with Cian McDonald kicking two points for the Gaels.

Dean Lynch grabbed a third goal to see his side lead by 3-6 to 0-4 as Rammie Phillips added two points for the Omeath side.

Stabannon continued to dominate after the break and cruised to victory with further goals from Dean Lynch and David Cluskey, while Aonghus Giggins finished with eight points. Kieran McAteer scored Cuchulainn Gaels' only point of the second half.

Nh Malachi booked their place in the knock-out stages for the second year in a row at the expense of St Nicholas thanks to a 2-10 to 0-10 victory over the Drogheda men at Tallanstown on Friday evening.

Goals from Donal Begley and Eamonn Agnew made the difference as the Mals made it through alongside Group 2 winners, Glyde Rangers. The Courtbane side will take on Glen Emmets in the quarter-final.

After Noel Donaldson opened the scoring inside 60 seconds for the Malachis the remainder of the half was very tight. Jason O'Boyle and Philip Kirwan were on target for the Nicks, with Padraig Moley and Ronan Greene replying for the Mals. However, the crucial score came late in the half when Begley found the net to send his team in leading by 1-4 to 0-5 at the break.

The teams traded points early in the second half before the Mals opened up a gap when Donaldson, Shane Rogers and Pierce Caherty fired over. With six minutes remaining, Eamonn Agnew struck a crucial second goal to settle the issue.

Lannleire will contest the Junior Championship quarter-finals after recording a comfortable 3-7 to 0-4 victory over Dowdallshill in Group 3 at Louth Village on Thursday evening.

The teams met to decide who would join group winners Roche Emmets in the knock-out stages and it was the men from Dunleer who eased their way to victory, boosted by first half goals from Breen McGuinness, Bob Murphy and Brendan McEvoy.

With the score standing at 3-3 to 0-1 approaching the half time whistle, Dowdallshill were handed a lifeline when full forward Aidan McCabe was brought down for a penalty. The same player dusted himself down to take the resulting kick, only to see his effort shave the outside of the post and go wide.

That miss ended any prospect of a fightback from the Dundalk side, and while their enjoyed much more possession in the second period, they failed to convert it into scores, allowing Lannleire to hold out for a victory.

The Dunleer side will play Westerns in the quarter-final after the Reaghstown men confirmed their place at the top of Group 4 when the made it three wins out of three with a 2-9 to 1-11 victory over Sean McDermotts at Tallanstown on Friday evening.

Trevor Baylon proved the match winner as he kicked a late point, but the Seans disappointment was short-lived as word came through that defeat for the John Mitchels meant they would also qualify for the quarter-final on score difference. They have been paired with Roche Emmets in the last eight.

The Westerns got off to a great start with points from Tommy Durnin (2) and a Ciaran Campbell a Ciaran Campbell goal. The Seans fought back with the help of scores from Lorcan Myles and Tony Kelly, to keep their hopes alive.

Just before the break the Mountrush side suffered another setback when Anthony Durnin fired in a second goal to put his side 2-5 to 0-5 up at half time.

The Seans got right back into the game when they kicked four of the first five points of the second half, but the Reaghstown men looked to have weathered that storm when they restored the five-point gap entering the closing stages.

With three minutes remaining, the game burst into life again when Kevin McMahon goaled for the McDermotts, before two points in quick succession levelled the game. However, it was Baylon who snatched victory when he kicked the last point in injury time.

Wolfe Tones and John Mitchels were the teams to miss out on a place in the last eight as the 2-14 to 1-6 win for the Drogheda men proved little benefit to either team.

The Group 4 game at Louth Village saw the Tones turn in a very impressive display against a Mitchels side who would have gone through to the quarter-final with victory in this clash.

Despite playing against a stiff breeze, the Mitchels got off to a great start when Mikey Nulty scored the opening goal inside five minutes.

However, it was the Tones who were dominating possession and with Jordan Duffy and Niall Smith in terrific form in front of the posts, they went 0-8 to 1-2 ahead before Smith got in for a fine goal. Conor Reilly and Aaron Keely kicked late points to cut the gap to 1-9 to 1-4 at the break.

The Mitchels were unable to make the wind count in their favour in the second half and early scores from Smith and Barry Kelly extended the lead.

With just over ten minutes remaining, Smith fired in his second goal to seal the win but unfortunately for the Tones it wasn't enough to prevent their exit on score difference.

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