A Super Saturday in store for Mayo GAA fans with two mammoth Mayo SFC quarter-finals on the air
TYNAN'S TAKE: By Stuart Tynan
NOW the real fun begins. Following an excellent final round of matches across the Mayo club championships, the knockout stages begin in the senior, intermediate and junior championships.
There are four great quarter-final ties in store in the Mayo SFC, and two of them are worthy of being a final lineup. For all the criticism that RTÉ gets (and at times, deserves) with their coverage of Gaelic games, they couldn't have picked two better games to air to showcase the quality of Mayo club football across the country..
The first sees Westport face off against Ballina Stephenites. Westport have been the outstanding team in the group stages in my opinion and it just may be their time. But they will have to come through a stern examination from Ballina, who have bounced back well following their opening day defeat to Ballintubber.
Central to their hopes will be Padraig O'Hora, who has been his sides stand out performer so far. He is just a joy to watch. With O'Hora and Ger Cafferkey among a resilient back six for Ballina the feared Westport attack, which has racked up 4-43 across their three games in the group, will no doubt face a serious test of their credentials.
But Lee Keegan, Kevin Keane (his potential battle with Ger Cafferkey could be worth the price of admission alone) et al have the the look of a side ready to finally cross the line and with the return of Eoghan McLoughlin following his bad injury sustained in Mayo's All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin, the Covies may just have too much for the men from north Mayo.
The other Mayo SFC that will be on television is the mouthwatering tie of Ballintubber and Knockmore. In what is a repeat of last's year quarterfinal meeting, Knockmore ended Ballintubber's hopes of three Moclair Cups on the spin. The roles are reversed on this occasion as Enda Gilvarry's men will be eager to stop Ray Dempsey's troops of retaining their crown.
I was in MacHale Park for their match last year and Knockmore were full value for their victory over a Ballintubber side who, on the day, saw too many of their big performers have an off-day. So far in this championship, Ballintubber have looked to complete package from defence to attack and they remain my pick to win the title.
They blew Ballina and Claremorris away, while a devastating ten-minute period saw off any resistance from Davitts and you get the feeling that whoever want to win this year's championship will have to go through Ballintubber to do so.
But Knockmore showed in their emphatic win over Charlestown last weekend that they will not go down without a fight. I was in Breaffy last Saturday afternoon where if Knockmore failed to win, they were out of the championship. They came flying out of the blocks and a three-goal blitz in the first half answered any questions observers may have had about the current champions.
This one could go to the wire but I'm won't be changing my mind on my overall pick for the championship. My verdict is Ballintubber, but only just.
The other two quarterfinal ties - taking place Sunday - see dark horses Garrymore face Castlebar Mitchels while Belmullet take on Breaffy. Mitchels haven't looked particularly convincing in the group stages and I can see Garrymore taking down Alan Flynn's side and while Belmullet showed in their win over Knockmore that they are an excellent side in their own right, I expect Breaffy to come out on top in that one.
*You can read Stuart's full column every Tuesday in our print edition.