Hurling Walsh Cup: Offaly have reached the semi-finals of the Walsh Cup, having six points to spare at the end of their clash with Down at Carrig yesterday.

A scoring burst early in the third quarter gave Offaly the advantage in what was an otherwise closely fought game. The Ulster side battled gamely throughout and gave the home side plenty of problems. There was little to separate the sides in the first half. Points were traded in the opening quarter, with the sides level on three occasions.

Offaly got their noses in front late in the half and led by 0-7 to 0-5 at the break. And the home side made a good start to the second half, producing their most effective hurling. Five points in the first 11 minutes - with a single reply from Down - left them 0-12 to 0-6 in front.

Down's Simon Wilson and Gary Savage then received yellow cards two minutes apart and the northerners found themselves down to 13 men. They looked to be in trouble, but they showed great character as they outscored Offaly in that period.

Just as Down returned to 15 men, Offaly were reduced to 14 when Niall Claffey got a yellow card. Down took advantage of their numerical superiority to cut the gap to four points with nine minutes to go.

And Down had a glorious chance of a goal when they were awarded a 20-metre free and goalkeeper Graham Clarke came forward to take it. However, his effort was saved and cleared by the Offaly defence. The home side added three points late in the game to secure the victory.

OFFALY: B Mullins; B Teehan (0-1), P Healion, M O'Hara; N Claffey (0-1), J Brady, C Cassidy; M Cordial (0-2), N Coughlan (0-1); C Parlon, G Oakley (0-1), B Cahill (0-3); D Hayden, S Browne (0-1), D Murray (0-6). Subs: K Brady for J Brady, A Hanrahan for Parlon.

DOWN: Graham Clarke; L Clarke, S Murray, P Hughes; Gabriel Clarke, G Savage, P Monan; S Wilson (0-3), A Savage; S Clarke (0-3), B McGourty (0-2), E Trainor; E Clarke (0-1), M Coulter (0-1), P Smith. Subs: A Bell for Smith, J McCusker for Trainor.

Referee: Sean Whelan (Wexford).