Armagh v Mayo Hyde Park, Sunday, 3.45 On TV: TG4: Mayo leapt into these semi-finals after some mathematical high jinks on the last day of the league, when they were in blistering form against relegated Westmeath. Their reward is this attractive tussle with an Armagh team surely readying themselves for one last tilt at All-Ireland glory.
The form and enthusiasm with which the defeated All-Ireland finalists resumed their football has been admirable but it was significant Kerry, their betters last September, turned the screw again last month in Castlebar.
Having laid no great store on the league, Mayo's elegant dispatch of Cork, Tyrone and Donegal was reassuring. However, it is questionable whether another final, league or no, is a distraction they want to bring on themselves at this stage.
The decision not to thrust James Nallen, fresh from his sojourn in Trinidad and Tobago, into the equally exotic environment of Hyde Park suggests this is not a life-or-death day for John Maughan.
Joe Kernan has bulked up his team, restoring heavyweight names Kieran McGeeney and Oisín McConville to an Armagh side who have a shuddering, familiar look. Age has not withered them and with a few of last year's All-Ireland under-21 crop coming through, they are poised for another run. A busy Ulster schedule awaits them, however, and they will get as much running as they want from Mayo.
This is a fine opportunity for Mayo's young midfield partnership of Ronan McGarrity and Billy Joe Padden to stretch themselves against the formidable Paul McGrane/John Toal axis. The presence of James Gill adds substance and athleticism to that sector for Mayo.
Equally, Trevor Mortimer will take Francie Bellew on a guided tour. Conor Mortimer will have to work for freedom against Andy Mallon but will punish Armagh fouls with his free-taking. It is likely the McGeeney-Ciarán McDonald confrontation will be little more than shadow boxing, with both content to get on with their games.
However, the conviction remains here that if Mayo are to win an All-Ireland, the Crossmolina man has to start running at teams more and getting in around the goal area.
Both managers could take or leave the notion of league silverware but Armagh's philosophy is coloured by the memory of what happened to them against Fermanagh last summer. Mayo made it to an All-Ireland final that seemed destined for Armagh and that thought could be enough to stoke the Northern team into one of those moods. Armagh to advance.
ARMAGH: P Hearty; A Mallon, F Bellew, P McCormack; A Kernan, K McGeeney, C McKeever; J Toal, P McGrane; M O'Rourke, J McEntee, O McConville; S McDonnell, R Clarke, B Mallon.
MAYO: D Clarke; K Higgins, D Heaney; D Geraghty; C Moran, A Roche, P Gardiner; R McGarrity, BJ Padden; J Gill, C McDonald, A Moran; C Mortimer, T Mortimer, A Dillon.
