AIB All-Ireland Club IHC Semi-Final

TYNAGH/ABBEY-DUNIRY (Galway) 2-19 RATHNURE (Wexford) 2-11

AIB All-Ireland Club JHC Semi-Final

RUSSELL ROVERS (Cork) 2-22 BALLINASCREEN (Derry) 1-9

RED CARDS played a massive part in both of this afternoon’s AIB All-Ireland club hurling semi-finals, but while Russell Rovers’ dominance over Ballinascreen of Derry was such that the Rebel County side would probably have advanced either way, Rathnure supporters were justified in the frustration that they voiced at the final whistle in Glenisk O’Connor Park, where two highly controversial dismissals — one at the start of each half — left them with a mountain to climb against Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry.

Second-half goals from Paul Killeen and Pádraig Breheny will be seen as the scores that clinched the Galway club’s progression to an All-Ireland final in Croke Park next month, but their task was made so much easier by the amount of space they enjoyed during the 25 minutes in which they had two extra men on the pitch.

Right from the throw-in, the Wexford champions were put on the back foot when Ciarán O’Connor and Shane Moloney got tangled up at the throw-in, and while it was hard to ascertain if any foul play had occurred from TV replays, referee Conor Doyle was decisive, issuing a red to O’Connor immediately.

Rathnure persisted with using AJ Redmond as a sweeper, leaving Seán O’Connor in a solo role at the top of the pitch, and that looked like it might work when Rory Higgins did brilliantly to set up Shane Lawler for a superb goal that put Rathnure 1-4 to 0-4 up against the run of play.

The second quarter was dominated by Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry, however, who outscored their opponents by 0-8 to 0-2 in that period, with Galway senior panellist Pádraig Breheny to the fore.

Rory Higgins opened the second half with a bang, winning the throw ball and splitting the uprights to cut the gap to two points.

But five minutes later Paul Killeen collided with Garry McHugo and referee Conor Doyle, after consulting with linesman Ciarán O’Regan, determined that Seán O’Connor deserved a second straight red, with TV replays again shedding no light on what for.

Almost immediately, gaps began to open up and Tynagh/Abbey-Duniry took full advantage.

Conor Jordan used the extra space to pick off some nice points, Ben Moran found Paul Killeen in an acre of space and with time to wind up and strike at full power, his rocket from just outside the 13m line fizzed past Kyle Martin for a game-clinching goal.

Thomas Murphy picked up a late red for the Galway club that may rule him out of the final while goals were traded by Jack Redmond (a penalty) and Breheny, but there was never any doubt about which club was going to advance to Croke Park.

It was even more straightforward in The Downs, just outside Mullingar, where a hotly-fancied Russell Rovers side cruised to victory against Ballinascreen.

Ballinascreen goalkeeper Aodhán McCallion saw red here in the third minute following an off-the-ball incident, and by the 20-minute mark, Russell Rovers were out of sight.

Luke Duggan Murray shot 1-2 from play as the Imokilly side moved 1-10 to 0-2 clear, while Dan Ruddy and Josh Beausang were on target before half-time, ensuring that Russell Rovers could lead by 12 (1-15 to 1-3) despite conceding a green flag to Eoin McCallion.

Ballinascreen had the better of a low-scoring third quarter but Russell Rovers knew that their ticket to Croke Park had been stamped, and they wrapped up their win with a goal from a Beausang free, and five of the last seven points.