ULSTER SHC SEMI-FINALS:LOUGHGIEL AND Portaferry will meet in the Ulster senior club hurling championship decider after both sides comfortably came through their respective semi-finals at Casement Park yesterday.

All-Ireland champions Loughgiel faced Armagh’s Middletown, who were making the step up to senior for the first time.

Middletown held their own in the opening period and led by 0-2 to 0-1 early on, but Loughgiel upped the tempo to add five unanswered scores with Liam Watson and Benny McCarry in fine form.

Watson’s 30th-minute effort went just wide of the upright but the champions still held a 0-12 to 0-5 lead at the break.

The goal arrived just after the restart from the impressive Eddie McCloskey and killed the game as a contest. Watson, McCarry and McCloskey supplied the bulk of the Loughgiel scores, with Declan Laverty and Mark McFadden both adding their names to the list of scorers.

Down champions Portaferry also faced competition debutantes in the form of Derry side Swatragh. Potrafery put a scrappy opening behind them to race into a 0-8 to no score lead, and by half-time had widened the gap to 0-12 to 0-2.

Ruairi Convery gave the Derry side a glint of hope just after the break when finishing superbly to the net but four points from Paul Braniff, who finished on 0-11, eased Portaferry into the safety zone.

Convery was sent for an early shower in the 43rd minute for a straight red card off-the-ball offence, but the game was already over as a contest.

Aaron O’Prey ensured that all the Portaferry forwards were on the scoresheet, and Braniff delegated the free-taking duties to Brendan Coleman and Connor O’Prey as the Down champions eased to their first Ulster final in 10 years.