THE DRAMA OFF the field was matched by the action on it as St Mullins broke Ballinkillen’s hearts with a late, late show in their refixed Carlow senior hurling semi-final.
Ballinkillen were originally deemed to have forfeited this fixture, but were reinstated to the competition following a request from St Mullins and a u-turn by the Carlow county board.
And they came within touching distance of an upset against last year’s beaten finalists, leading by three points deep into additional time until Mullins struck a late equalising goal to force extra time, 2-12 to 1-15.
From there, it was one-way traffic as Mullins added a third goal in the second extra period and ran out six-point winners, 3-19 to 1-19.
In Galway, St Thomas’s kept the defence of their senior hurling title on track but they were pushed every inch of the way by a brave Tommy Larkins.
Ronan Murphy put Larkins into a 0-14 to 0-13 lead with 59 minutes on the clock in Saturday’s second quarter-final at Kenny Park.
But the champions weren’t done yet, and with nine additional minutes played at the end of the 60, they reeled off the final three scores to win by 0-16 to 0-14.
They’ll be joined in the final four by Turloughmore, chasing their first county crown since 1985, after they beat Craughwell 0-21 to 0-14 in Saturday’s first game.
Two points up at the break, Turloughmore turned the screw with six unanswered points in the third quarter to secure their passage.
Sarsfields meet 2018 beaten finalists Liam Mellows, and Loughrea face Cappataggle, in the remaining quarter-finals on Sunday.
Elsewhere, in Kilkenny, O’Loughlin Gaels battled to a four-point win over Mullinavat in their quarter-final replay in Bennettsbridge.
The sides played out an 0-12 to 0-12 draw in Nowlan Park last weekend but this afternoon’s conditions were much better as Danny Loughnane’s second-half goal proved decisive, O’Loughlins winning 1-14 to 0-13.
In Wexford, St Martin’s booked their place in a third straight county final with a 2-16 to 1-15 win over Ferns St Aidan’s at Wexford Park.
Jake Firman’s first-half goal gave Martins an early cushion but the game was in the balance right into additional time when Darren Codd struck a second for the 2017 county championships.
They’ll come up against St Anne’s in the decider after they ran out 2-14 to 0-14 winners against Rapparees in Saturday’s first semi.
