Holders Garrycastle and The Downs advanced to the semi-finals of the SFC following victories over Athlone and Tubberclair respectively at the weekend.

Dessie Dolan returned from his honeymoon to inspire Garrycastle to a 0-14 to 0-9 quarter-final win over town rivals Athlone on Saturday. Paul Dillon also impressed for the champions, who qualified for a semi-final meeting with Killucan, despite having defender Tom McHugh sent off late in the first half.

In the other quarter-final last night, The Downs saw off last year's intermediate champions Tubberclair by 0-15 to 1-8. With county hurler Brendan Murtagh, Ben Hogan and Shane Power to the fore, The Downs raced into a 0-8 to 0-2 lead before an Ian Coffey goal brought Tubberclair back into it before half-time.

The southerners applied strong pressure in the second half, but The Downs held on to book a semi-final date with Mullingar Shamrocks. That game will see county player John Smyth in opposition to his brothers Lorcan and Aenghus, who are key players for Shamrocks. Tweet

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