It is just a 28 mile drive from Kilmaine to Glenamaddy and tomorrow afternoon the south Mayo men will be meeting the boys from north Galway at a half-way point in Tuam Stadium - with a place in the Connacht Club Junior Football Championship semi-final up for grabs.
Kilmaine head into the Connacht Championship not as the Mayo champions - having fallen to a disappointing loss to Castlebar Mitchels B in the Mayo final three weeks ago. However, rules on B teams not being able to represent a county in provincial championship has given Kilmaine a second bite at picking up a championship title this year - but they will be facing a tough task to get that championship chase up and running when they take on the Galway junior champions tomorrow.
It is not the first time that a Mayo side has gone into the Connacht championship following a loss to a B team in the county decider; five years ago it was Achill who progressed all the way to the provincial decider, after they were also beaten by Castlebar Mitchels B in the county final.
Glenamaddy saw off Salthill-Knockacarra's second string by six points in their county final victory at the start of October, running out 2-12 to 1-9 winners to seal a historic season on the home front for Cathal Ryan's side, who picked up a league title and a north Galway championship to go with their junior crown.
The Galway side are captained by corner forward MacDara Geraghty, who will be part of an attacking unit including Michael Heneghan, Paul Geraghty, Michael Fox and Liam Glynn. In the middle of the park, Aidan Geraghty, who picked up the man of the match award in the Galway final and Padraig Geraghty were the starting pairing in the middle of the park for Glenamaddy - while their defensive lines are marshalled by Mark Dolan at centre-half-back and Aaron Hynes at full back.
For Kilmaine this game will offer them a chance to shake off the disappointment of losing the Mayo final - they will be hoping that the likes of Michael Hession and Cathal Murphy will be able to get a good return in front of the posts - while Pat Kelly is an experienced hand at the back who will be looked to, to hold the fort and let the likes of Oisin Mullin and Tomás Fahy put in a strong attacking role from wing back.
If Kilmaine win they will be back out in semi-final action the following weekend where the winners are scheduled to take on the Roscommon champions Ballinameen. The game throws in at 2pm in Tuam Stadium with Brendan Healy the man in the middle.
