Castlebar set up mouthwatering semi-final with Corofin

Castlebar Mitchels 1-10 Tourlestrane 0-5

Castlebar Mitchels eased past Tourlestrane at a cold but sunny Markvievicz Park in Sligo on Saturday afternoon to a book a Connacht semi-final meeting with Galway champions Corofin on Sunday next.

In what was a poor game, both sides lost two players each to black cards in a second half which produced some very low grade football.

As expected, Tourlestrane parked the bus and tried to suffocate the Castlebar attack. But it was a strong defensive performance from the Mayo champions which contained Tourlestrane who managed to score just a point in the first half playing into the wind.

They fared a lot better after the break but the stop-start nature of the game made for some poor quality fare and while Mitchels never looked under pressure they will know a they will need to improve if they are to successfully defend their Connacht title.

Gary Gaughan saved the blushes of the Sligo champions in injury-time in the opening period when he put them on the board with their only score of the half

In fairness, the best goal chance of the half fell to Tourlestrane but a brilliant save from Rory Byrne denied Alan Dunne after just four minutes.

But with the home side putting 14 players behind the ball Castlebar were content to wait for the gap to open up and it was a brilliant long ball from Aidan Walsh, one of two Mitchels players to be black-cared in the second half, which found Neil Douglas and he fired to the bottom corner to put Castlebar in control on 18 minutes.

That put Castlebar 1-3 ahead, James Durcan, Douglas from a free and from play accounting for the Castlebar half-time lead of 1-6 to 0-1, Douglas finishing the half with 1-4, 1-2 from play, and winning the man of the match award for his contributions of 1-5.

Castlebar Mitchels: R Byrne, S Irwin G McDonagh, D Newcombe, R O'Malley, E Reilly, R Collins, A Walsh, Moran, F Durkan (0-1), D Stenson (0-1,1f, J Durcan (0-2), D Kirby, N Douglas (1-5, 3f), S Hopkins. Subs - C Kyne N Douglas (BC 38) N Lydon for Kirby (45), A O Boyle for A Walsh (BC, 50). C Costello (0-1,1f) for J Durcan (53), R Burke for Collin (56).D Joyce fir D Stenson (57)

Tourlestrane: P McVeigh, C Neary, J Kelly, B Kennedy, J. F Carr, J Marren, J Leonard, S Henry, A McIntyre, P Harte (0-1,1f), G Gaughan (0-1), A Dunne, J Quinn, C Henry, B Egan (0-1, 1f). Subs -B Walsh for Leonard (13), L Gaughan (0-1, 1f) for A Dunne (HT) N Egan (0-1) for C Henry (BC, 36), S Dunne for J Kelly (50), J Kelly for L Gaughan (BC,51)

Referee: E Grady (Leitrim)