Ballina Stephenites and Knockmore both ensured their progression to the quarter-finals of the Mayo SFC with victories on Sunday.
Ballina defeated Claremorris by 10 points and Knockmore beat Kiltane by 16.
The two sides meet in their final game of Group 3 in what, on the surface, would appear to be a dead rubber.
That is without taking Padraig O'Hora's post-match interview with Mayo GAA TV into consideration.
Asked by Mike Finnerty if Ballina are looking forward to testing themselves against Knockmore, O'Hora replied emphatically: "Yeah, yeah, we'll go out and beat them in two weeks."
Mike Finnerty: "I love it. Any particular reason?"
Padraig O'Hora: "No."
Mike Finnerty: "Just because."
Padraig O'Hora: "Just because. We'll beat anybody we come out against this year. Simple as."
If Knockmore were allowed into their club dressing room, they would surely pin those comments to the wall. They may be sellotaped to the side of a gazebo instead.
If you think that's box office, you should check out Padraig 'Swanie' O'Horas interview ⬇️⬇️⬇️. #mayogaa #GAA https://t.co/MYHctwbwt7 pic.twitter.com/yaVoPbaN3q
— L. NíHéineacháin (@LaobhaoiseNihE) August 9, 2020
O'Hora was standing beside teammate Evan Regan as he gave his prediction of the game. Regan could not help but laugh. The forward said he would be a bit more "political" with his answers.
"I'm always confident," said Regan.
Any time we play, I'm confident. Knockmore will be a huge test. Depending on how they get on today, both could be through already. I don't think that'll matter one bit. It might in the preparation, it might in the talk around the town but once that ball is thrown in, it's championship football.
This is the first time that I've been playing senior football that we've been [qualified] out of the group by the second game. It's brilliant but we're not going to get too carried away just yet. We know there are a lot bigger challenges coming down the line.
Though they have won the most Mayo senior championships, it is now 13 years since Stephenites last won the title. For Knockmore, it's a decade extra.
"It was tough going but this is what you train for, this is what you play for," O'Hora said of Sunday's game against Claremorris.
"You want the sunshine, don't you? Sunshine football, it suits us - we're a fast-moving team. It's good to go out against good, strong opposition. It's a good test for us now. We're looking forward to the next two weeks and meeting Knockmore then.
"The team seems to be coming together. We've got a plan in place; people are starting to implement it and gel together. There's so many good footballers on the pitch and we're going away from that individual football and starting to play as a unit.
