The Downs, Wolfe Tones and Portarlington progress to Leinster club SFC semis

The Downs' Niall Mitchell scores his side's first goal over Conor Hughes and Andrew Smyth of Kilanerin-Ballyfad ©INPHO/Ben Brady

The Downs secured their place in the Leinster club senior football championship semi-finals with an impressive second-half comeback against Wexford champions Kilanerin-Ballyfad in Mullingar.

The visitors made the stronger start and dominated much of the first half, with Dean O’Toole contributing six points as Kilanerin-Ballyfad went in at the break leading by 0-10 to 1-3.

Ian Martin’s excellent two-pointer early in the second-half offered The Downs some hope, but Kilanerin-Ballyfad continued to hold the advantage before the game turned decisively in the 42nd minute.

Joe Moran found the net to bring the sides level at 2-7 to 0-13, and with county men Luke Loughlin and Kevin O’Sullivan increasingly influential, The Downs began to take control.

Niall Mitchell and O’Sullivan combined brilliantly for the latter to fire home a third goal in the 51st minute, putting the Westmeath champions firmly in the driving seat. The Downs saw out the closing stages comfortably to claim a deserved 3-13 to 0-15 victory and advance to the provincial last four.

In Ashbourne, Meath champions Wolfe Tones saw off Wicklow winners An Tóchar by 1-20 to 2-13 to book their place in the semis of Sean McCabe Cup race.

The hosts dominated the opening 40 minutes, with Kyle Moran outstanding as they built a commanding 0-10 to 0-3 half-time lead before Cian O’Neill’s goal extended their advantage to 14 points.

However, An Tóchar mounted a spirited late comeback, scoring 2-8 in the final 20 minutes to put the home side under pressure.

Conor Fee and John Paul Nolan led the Wicklow fightback, with Nolan finding the net from a late free, but Caolan Ward’s two-point free proved crucial for Wolfe Tones.

Moran finished with six points, while O’Neill contributed 1-2 in an impressive attacking display.

Wolfe Tones held on to secure their second-ever Leinster club SFC victory as they now get set to clash with The Downs for a place in the Leinster final.

Meanwhile, Portarlington will face Cuala in the other semi-final in the eastern province after the Laois champions survived a late push from Rathvilly at Newatch Cullen Park where it finished 1-13 to 1-12.

Colm Murphy was the star for the Laois champions, finishing with 1-6, including an early goal, while Ronan Coffey contributed three points as they led by 1-5 to 0-6 at half-time.

Rioghan Murphy, Robbie Pigott and Robbie Bracken also got on the scoresheet as the visitors moved four points clear with four minutes remaining.

However, Rathvilly refused to surrender, with Liam Gavin tallying 1-9 in total, including four two-point frees, to keep his side in contention.

Late goalscoring drama followed as Gavin found the net deep into injury-time, but further scores from substitutes Keith Bracken and Sean Moran proved vital for the O'Moore men.

Rathvilly finished with 13 players following late dismissals, as Portarlington held on for a dramatic one-point victory to secure their place in the last four.