Dungannon Swifts, Cliftonville and Coleraine joined Larne in the semi-finals of the Clearer Water Irish Cup following an action-packed quarter-final weekend.
The holders continued their defence of the trophy with a three-goal victory over HW Welders at Stangmore Park.
The Swifts broke the deadlock on 23 minutes when Gael Bigirimana released Steven Scott with a precise long pass, allowing the forward to lift the ball over advancing keeper Samuel Safaei.
Cahal McGinty doubled the advantage in the 64th minute with a powerful header from a corner before Kobei Moore sealed the win late on with a superb strike from the edge of the area.
Dungannon Swifts 3-0 HW Welders
Coleraine also secured their place in the last four after a 2-0 win against Limavady United at The Showgrounds.
After a goalless first hour, Joel Cooper broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute, turning onto a pass from Ben Wylie before unleashing a powerful 25-yard strike into the roof of the net beyond Marty Gallagher.
Cooper then played a key role in the second goal, chasing down a back pass and squaring the ball for substitute Matthew Shevlin, who finished calmly from 12 yards to wrap up the victory.
Limavady United 0-2 Coleraine
Meanwhile, Cliftonville hit three unanswered goals past Loughgall at Lakeview Park.
The visitors moved ahead in the 11th minute when Keevan Hawthorne received a pass from Josh Kelly and Adebayo Fapetu before delicately lifting his finish over Ross Glendinning.
Shaun Leppard doubled the lead with a near-post header from a corner delivered by Micheal Glynn, and Liam McStravick completed the scoring early in the second half when he reacted quickest to convert the rebound after his initial effort had been saved.
Loughgall 0-3 Cliftonville
Larne were the first side to reach the last four after defeating Glentoran in a penalty shoot-out at The Oval on Friday night, after the teams finished level following 120 minutes of play.
The draw for the semi-finals was made immediately after Saturday’s games and produced the following ties:-
- Cliftonville v Dungannon Swifts
- Coleraine v Larne
The ties are scheduled to take place over the weekend of Friday 3 and Saturday 4 April, with exact details including venues to be confirmed in due course.
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