Mayo's Ballina Stephenites will hope to build on their first senior county title since 2007 when they face Fulham Irish in the Connacht Senior Football quarter-final on Saturday.
In their county final win over Breaffy, the tense affair came down to strong defence, with Mayo's Padraig O'Hora central to their victory, in what was a first county title for him.
A key player for Mayo in the past number of seasons, he told Breakingnews.ie why it was so special to break the 16-year drought with his club.
"It was magical to be honest, winning with the lads you grew up with," O'Hora said.
"We would have had all our trials and tribulations with friends and buddies. There are lads who have lost parents and family members who were very close to the group, so it makes it all that more special.
"It felt like we left last year behind us. It was just about getting over the line this time.
"We felt like we were the best team in the county, this year and last. We were disappointed with how last year panned out."
But all the attention is now on this weekend, when Ballina face Fulham Irish, based in West London, in the provincial quarter-final.
🔹AIB Connacht Senior Club Football QF@NaStiofanaigh 🆚 @FulhamIrish
🗓️ 11th Nov
📍 @HastMacHalePark
🕰️ 6pm
🎟️ Tickets can only be purchased through the below link. There will be no tickets for sale at the ground on matchday!https://t.co/YFRt6yp9kE pic.twitter.com/fO2WjADPt8— Connacht GAA (@ConnachtGAA) November 6, 2023
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While O'Hora insists they will take it one game at a time, he backs his side to go all the way in the All-Ireland.
"I think the team has a lot of potential.
"Any team that gets out of Mayo has the capacity to go all the way. The standard of football in Mayo is as high as you find around the country."
However, a 0-6 to 0-4 scoreline in the county final makes clear it wasn't an attacking game, with many making their feelings known in the days following the match, commenting on the current state of Mayo football.
Regardless of the scoreline, Ballina got over the line when it mattered, and having watched the game back, O'Hora said he feels some criticism of the final was unwarranted.
"We were just happy to win. I watched it back since, and even on the pitch, I thought it was quite a decent game. I would argue that we played excellent football in the first half, we just didn't finish. There were 10 missed opportunities in the first half by our side.
"We would usually convert at least half of them, and then you are looking at a game where you are going into half-time with nine or 10 scores, and then there wouldn't be as much criticism. I just think efficiency in front of goal let both sides down.
"I talked to a load of people in the two or three days after, and it was the same rhetoric. They would say "it was an awful bad game of football."
"You would ask then, 'were you up at it?' 'No.' 'Did you watch it?' 'No, but I saw the score.' A lot of the big opinions that came out about it hadn't a clue what happened, or watched the game or have any knowledge of football, so I wouldn't be overly bothered by it to be honest."
Split season
In the second year of the split season, Ballina are a club who benefited from its introduction; particularly with players like O'Hora, who can be fully involved for both club and county during the year.
Being fully focused on either club or county is key for the defender, who has praised its introduction.
"For a player who plays for club and county, it allows us to be present where you are. You would go back to your club and and you would still be in Mayo mode, and that doesn't help anybody.
”From January to August hopefully, you are just a Mayo footballer, and then from August until the year end, you are just a Ballina Stephenites player. It just allows you to focus on that. All I was thinking about was winning a county title."
2023 was also the year of a new format in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, as the All-Ireland series group stage made its debut.
In Kevin McStay's first season, Mayo won a National League title, and had impressive away wins over Kerry and Galway in the championship, but were ultimately brushed aside by Dublin in the quarter-finals.
Looking back on the season, O'Hora points to a costly defeat against Cork as a turning point in the season.
"I think the Cork game really hurt us. I think that was the one that made it even for Dublin, as it took away the two-week format.
"If we continued to win there, we would have continued on the two-week format, and the preparation for games. When you disrupt that and only have a week, it throws everything.
"I am not 100 per cent about what I think of the format, but if you can keep winning, and stay on the two-week rota, it is great. If you slip up like we did in Limerick, you end up playing a game seven days later, that is enough to give an edge to your opponent."
Ballina Stephenites face Fulham Irish in the Connacht Senior Football quarter-final at MacHale Park on Saturday at 6pm.
