Aughnasheelin overcame neighbours Kiltubrid in the Semi Final of the Smith Monumentals Intermediate Football Championship in Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada, Carrick on Shannon on Saturday in a dour struggle with the losers ending the game with twelve players.

A great start for the winners when after just two minutes, Brendan Mulvey fired the ball to the net after Noel Gill stopped the initial attempt from Ciaran Cullen, three minutes later Gavin Sammon added a point to leave four between the teams.

Danny McWeeney opened the losers account on eight minutes with a good point from play, but the woodwork denied them an equaliser shortly afterwards when a Barry McWeeney effort came off the woodwork with Emmet Mahon firing wide in the follow up.

Points from Gavin Sammon (mark) and Sean McWeeney (45) extended the winners lead to five, Barry McWeeney kept his team in touch with a pointed free but within minutes the winners had extended their lead to six points when Fintan Fitzpatrick (free) and Mulvey from play hitting points.

Fionn O’Brien and Aaron Hoare exchanged points and ended the first half scoring to maintain the six points gap between the teams at the break.

Three yellow cards in a tense opening half, James Tighe (K), Joe Early and Cormac Sammon (A). Kiltubrid needed a good start to the second half to get back into the game but it wasn’t to be, instead it was the winners who had the better start, Fitzpatrick and Hoare firing over points, both from play, to give their side an eight point advantage.

But this was to be their last score of the game but they never looked in danger of losing the game, Kiltubrid hitting just three points over the remaining twenty five minutes but also losing three players to cards from referee Kevin Mallon.

Barry McWeeney recorded their first score of the second half twelve minutes in but the next few minutes had more cards than scores, Barry McWeeney, James Tighe and Shane Meehan all receiving yellow but it was Tighes second yellow which was critical as it reduced his team to fourteen players.

Aaron Hoare also received a yellow in that period, Barry McWeeney hit over a free but Kiltubrid were still behind by six.

Their chances of a comeback were reduced even further when Diarmuid MacThiarnain was sent off for an off the ball clash with Gavin Sammon, Sean McWeeney also saw yellow followed by a red but after protesting that it was only his first yellow, Referee Kevin Mallon realised his mistake and just showed a yellow.

The final score of the game fell to Emmet Mahon with a good point from play before Kiltubrid lost another player, sub Mickey Earley receiving a black card to end a very disappointing day for his side leaving Aughnaseelin easy winners in a game which never lived up to its pre match expectations.