O'Loughlin Gaels advance to Leinster semi-finals

O'Loughlin Gaels 2-16 Mount Leinster Rangers 0-13

A third-quarter speed wobble aside, O'Loughlin Gaels were good value for their AIB Leinster club SHC quarter-final victory over Mount Leinster Rangers.

Mark Bergin's eight-point haul and goals from Owen Wall and substitute Luke Hogan all added up to a comprehensive win for the Kilkenny champions who will face Kilcormac-Killoughey of Offaly in the semi-finals on 25 November.

Wall's fifth minute goal helped O'Loughlin Gaels to open up a 1-03 to 0-01 lead and they remained in pole position from there on.

Their nine-point half-time lead was whittled down to just four by a resurgent Mount Leinster in the third quarter though that was as good as it got for the 2013 champions.

Diarmuid Byrne's 53rd minute dismissal for Mount Leinster Rangers was a killer blow for the underdogs who trailed by four points at that stage and they went on to be outscored by 1-04 to 0-02 after that.

Byrne's red card was a controversial one because his first booking earlier in the second-half came for entering the field of play too soon as a substitute.

A giant question mark hung over the Carlow representatives and how they would fare following three months without a competitive game as their county final win over St Mullins was way back on 13 August.

Boss Paul O'Brien said beforehand that he was confident they'd ticked all the boxes in terms of preparation and that they'd played a series of useful challenge games.

But they were powerless to prevent Brian Hogan's Gaels from roaring into a 1-10 to 0-04 half-time lead, virtually killing the contest at that early stage.

In truth, Mount Leinster Rangers weren't so much off the pace as unable to take the scoring opportunities that came their way in that opening