Previews of this Sunday's All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Club semi-finals, compiled by Ian O'Riordan.
Kilmacud Crokes (Dublin) v Salthill-Knocknacarra (Galway), Pearse Park, Longford, 2.30: Considering the bookies can't decide between these two - and they had their inside sources - this preview will be basely largely on a whim. Salthill to win.
The difficulty is both teams come loaded with talent (home grown or otherwise) coupled with experience and there will be no separating their desire to win either.
Kilmacud are back in the semi-final for the first time since 1995, the year they collected their only All-Ireland, while Salthill were last here in 1991, beating Dr Crokes of Kerry before losing to Derry champions Lavey in the final. So they're as desperate as any club can be to get back to Croke Park.
That respective talent is evenly spread too. Kilmacud have class in all areas, with Paul Griffin in defence, the Magee brothers Johnny and Darren at midfield, and Ray Cosgrove and Mark Vaughan up front - although the latter is best described as a mercurial talent.
Salthill can look to Finian Hanley in defence, Michael Donnellan at midfield, and Seán Armstrong and Alan Kerins up front, not forgetting the experienced head of former Mayo star Maurice Sheridan. Their scoring averages compare favourably up front, but Salthill have been more impressive defensively.
There's a little more pressure too on Kilmacud given the constant spotlight on Dublin football, but the experienced backroom team of Nicky McGrath and Robbie Kelleher, Dublin's three-time All-Ireland winner, along with the close bond that's known to run through the team, should minimise that as a factor.
One of the few things that actually point towards a Salthill win is the respective paths to the final, where the Galway champions were never once troubled, while Kilmacud struggled past both Rhode and Sarsfields.
Recent challenge games suggest Kilmacud still have some consistency problems, and while challenges rarely count for much when it comes to the heat of championship battles, that's at least something to base that whim on.
Nemo Rangers (Cork) v St Gall's (Antrim), Portlaoise, 2.30:
Here's a match that appears as separable as black from white. Nemo Rangers are the masters of club football, with a record seven All-Ireland titles, a formidable reputation, and now contesting their fourth semi-final in six years. When it comes to the conveyor belt of talent no club moves quicker than Nemo.
The ease at which they won their way to another Munster title confirms their status as one of the hardest teams to handle when it comes to the AIB club championship. They hammered Ardfinnan (by 10 points), then Stradbally (by seven points) and finally St Senan's (by nine points) and it goes without saying that they'll start tomorrow's semi-final as strong favourites.
James Masters has been in superb form up front, hitting 1-5 from play against St Senan's, with Seán O'Brien, David Niblock, and Paul Kerrigan (those names resonate) capable of as much on any given day.
Nemo have a smaller pool of players than is often imagined but they do have the best club facilities in the country and clearly work hard with the talent they do unearth. The current squad looks as strong as anything they've had in the past, reflected by the fact that Joe Kavanagh hasn't been a regular starter.
All of which makes St Gall's task appear all the more daunting, and yet few competitions throw up more surprises than the club championship.
St Gall's surprised people throughout Ulster, beating Tyrone champions Carrickmore, then Mayobridge of Down and a hotly tipped Bellaghy. Their scoring hasn't been quite as impressive as Nemo, but is usually well spread about which is equally important.
Team captain, Sean Kelly, is set to feature again after missing the Ulster campaign with a collarbone injury, and in midfielder Mark McCrory and full forward Ciarán Gallagher they have players capable of testing Nemo. Whether or not that's good enough to win will really depend on how Nemo rise to the challenge, and history tells us they do that rather well.
