Armagh v Wexford Venue: Croke Park Throw-in: 2.0, SaturdayTHERE ARE two ways a great team can go. One, they can cling on for dear life, not allowing the next generation to bed in; two, they can see the writing on the wall and high-tail it out of town.
The Armagh of the early part of this century came back for one more go last season only to be upended by Donegal and Derry. The All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Kerry in 2006 seemed to really signal the end.
Armagh though have been quietly building on the 2002 success with an under-21 All-Ireland in 2004. The cream of that team has since risen to the top and combined with what's left of the team Joe Kernan built has become a fine footballing, yet still intimidating, side.
Down and Monaghan threatened to end their Ulster dominance this year but in the end neither was quite ready to handle the body blows of the manic northern campaign - a campaign of such intensity it is partially to blame for Armagh failing to add to their solitary All-Ireland.
But if they do what needs to be done today the road to September opens up for them. They will progress to a mouth-watering semi-final, either another war with their neighbours Tyrone or an earth-shattering showdown with Dublin. Just don't slip up here, is the quiet prayer of Armagh fans.
If Paul McGrane, aided by Kieran Toner, can dig out another domineering display, much like the way Dublin's Shane Ryan and Ciarán Whelan destroyed the Wexford midfield in the Leinster final, they will lay off to the likes of Aaron Kernan, who will duly pick out Ronan Clarke near goal. If enough ball comes in Clarke or Steven McDonnell will do damage.
The scene is also set for Stephen Kernan to show off his scoring talent on the national stage.
The possibility of Matty Forde producing a memorable day cannot be disregarded. He is a danger Armagh must contain.
Tyrone corner back PJ Quinn is a major doubt for the All-Ireland quarter-final against Dublin next weekend. The back injury that forced him to miss the qualifier win over Mayo is on the mend, but he has not yet returned to training, and there are fears he may lose his race against time.
"He'll certainly be available to us. Whether he gets enough work done to make the starting team, that's debatable," said manager Mickey Harte.
ARMAGH:P Hearty; E McNulty, F Bellew, F Moriarty; A Kernan, A O'Rourke, C McKeever; P McGrane, K Toner; C Vernon, B Mallon, M O'Rourke; S McDonnell, R Clarke, S Kernan.
WEXFORD:A Masterson; D Walsh, P Wallace, B Malone; A Morrissey, D Murphy, C Morris; E Bradley, B Doyle; R Barry, P Colfer, C Byrne; C Lyng, PJ Banville, M Forde.
GUIDELINES
In the last episode:A couple of league games including the 2005 Division One final, which Armagh won pulling up, don't really provide much evidence of a rivalry.
You bet:gambling is essentially a very dangerous pastime but if forced and handed a free bet we would go with Armagh minus three at 11 to 10.
On your marks:Who will pick up Matty Forde? They are no longer overly reliant on the great man but bottle him up and, much like Steven McDonnell down the other end, you have gone a long way to breaking Wexford.
Gaining ground:Hard to know which is the main event today. There will be plenty of parking spaces on offer anyway.
Just the ticket:See Galway v Kerry.
Crystal gazing:It would be presumptuous to dismiss Wexford entirely but we can't see past a comfortable result for the Ulster champions. Wexford cannot possibly fold as they did in the Leinster final, can they?
