Laois enjoyed a fine win over Wexford in the oneills.com Leinster U20 Hurling quarter-final.
O'Neills.com Leinster U-20 hurling championship quarter-finals
Dublin 4-12 Offaly 0-17
Laois 1-24 Wexford 1-18
By Paul Keane
An excellent second-half performance that yielded three goals propelled Dublin beyond oneills.com Leinster and All-Ireland U-20 HC holders Offaly and through to the province's last four.
The Sky Blues, who lost both of their Tier 1 group games and had to overcome Antrim in a preliminary quarter-final, conjured their best form of the campaign in neutral Newbridge to see off The Faithful.
Dublin trailed by three points at half-time, 1-3 to 0-9, and were grateful to Callum Graham, a late addition to the lineup, for his 28th minute goal which kept them in it.
But they were a different team after the break and Graham's second goal, allied to two also from Ollie Gaffney, turned a tricky situation into an eventual seven-point win.
It amounted to a 10-point swing on the scoreboard as Dublin locked down a May 14 semi-final spot with Galway and gained a little bit of revenge for last year's Leinster final defeat to Offaly in the process.
Gaffney and Graham finished with 4-2 between them while Dublin seniors Brendan Kenny and Conal O Riain also weighed in with important scores.
There was a terrific performance at the back too from David Lucey, another of the senior players, who kept tabs on Adam Screeney and held the rising Offaly star scoreless from play.
Screeney, returning from a troublesome groin injury, did strike eight points from frees while senior colleague Dan Ravenhill and Donal Shirley delivered 0-5 between them.
But Offaly never really cut loose or showed the flair and character that drove them to last year's successes.
Gaffney's goal after the restart, following a quick free, ignited Dublin and Dublin's third goal arrived in the 38th minute when Graham spun away from his man and blasted to the net.
Dublin turned the screw with unanswered points from Gaffney, Kenny and O'Kelly between the 52nd and 56th minutes before Gaffney sealed it with the team's fourth goal late on.
Meanwhile, Laois scored a terrific six-point win over Wexford to secure their semi-final on May 14 against Kilkenny.
Ben Deegan's 10-point haul, nine of which came from placed bals, was crucial as the side that finished bottom of their Tier 1 group scored a landmark win.
Wexford must have fancied their chances after opening a 0-6 to 0-3 lead initially but Laois were quickly back on level terms at 0-6 apiece before pulling decisively clear.
Laois reeled off seven points in a row in the second quarter of the game, thanks in part to four Deegan points and two from Ruardhri Kavanagh, to open up a 0-14 to 0-7 lead.
But three Simon Roche points and a Conor Fanning goal amounted to a strong Wexford response before half-time and Laois led by just 0-15 to 1-11 at the break.
Wexford would have the significant wind behind them in the second-half.
But they couldn't use it to their advantage and only added seven second-half points with just two of those coming from play.
Meanwhile, Laois netted through Justin Duggan, a low shot that fortunately found the net, to move five clear in the 35th minute and never looked back.
Ben and Ross Deegan continued to pick off the points, along with Eoghan Cuddy and Duggan, to score a memorable win and a provincial semi-final spot.