The last four left standing in the chase for the McDonnell Cup will be brought down to just two come Sunday afternoon when the semi-finals of the Mayo GAA Junior Football Championship come to a conclusion.
Kilmaine remain the team to beat in the grade - but having come close in recent years the south Mayo team will not be taking their eye of the ball this weekend as they look to finally escape the clutches of the junior grade after a few near misses.
The south Mayo men will face a tough test on Saturday afternoon when they take on Cill Chomain in Ballina at 4pm - last year's Connacht Junior Champions had a big 3-18 to 1-10 win over Ardagh in the last eight, where Adam Barrett kicked 12 points (nine of them from frees ) with Oisin Mullin also putting in a good showing in curbing the influence of his fellow Mayo team-mate James Carr.
Cill Chomain won't be fazed by facing the favourites with Paul McGarry's men having too much for Eastern Gaels, running out 1-14 to 0-11 winners with Justin Healy and Mark Tighe putting in very good shifts. It's all been very simple for Kilimane so far this season, but that'll change this weekend you expect - but they should have more than enough to return to the final.
The other semi-final will see Kilmeena - who have been improving year on year at this grade in recent years, take on a Shrule-Glencorrib side who are looking to bounce back to intermediate after being relegated last year.
The south Mayo men saw off Killala last weekend with Evan Cawley and Brendan Ryan both kicking three points each with Eoin Reilly also putting in a good showing in a 0-14 to 1-8 win - the south Mayo men will be hoping midfielder James Dowd is back fit for this one as they will need him.
Kilmeena won the battle of west Mayo in the last eight last weekend, seeing off Achill by 1-11 to 1-7 as they continue their growth as a side. Darren Keaveney's reliability from frees was key in that win, with him kicking five points from frees, while others like Niall Feehan and Neil Ryan also had telling contributions to the win. It may be the westerners day on Sunday when they meet in Islandeady at 1pm.
