Mayo and Galway to square off in final football preliminary quarterfinal
Seven of the eight All-Ireland senior football championship quarterfinalists are now known but which one of Galway and Mayo will join them?
The age-old rivals meet in Pearse Stadium, Salthill, tomorrow (Sunday) at 3 p.m. for the right to join Armagh, Derry, Dublin, Kerry, Cork, Monaghan and Tyrone in the last eight.
Galway's championship run has been impressive, with four wins from five games played. Their only defeat came against Armagh last Sunday – a costly loss, as it turned out, as it resulted in them having to play a preliminary quarterfinal to play this weekend.
Mayo's defeat against Cork in Limerick last Sunday was even more dramatic as it left them not alone with a preliminary quarterfinal, but with a road trip as well.
The loss represented their second in the championship as Kevin McStay's charges exited the Connacht championship early on with a quarterfinal defeat against Roscommon.
Just a week earlier, Mayo had beaten Galway in the Allianz National Football League Division 1 final. Much has happened since then, of course.
This is 11th successive year that Galway and Mayo are meeting in the championship. Nine of the previous 10 were in the Connacht championship, with one in the All-Ireland qualifiers (2019). Other than in the 2021 Connacht final, which Mayo won by six points, all the games since 2016 have been won by margins of between one and three points, making it one of the most competitive rivalries in football.
In their last 10 championship encounters, Mayo have six victories to Galway's four.
Tomorrow's game will be the 93rd championship game between the counties, with Mayo marginally ahead on the head-to-head with 44 wins to Galway's 42 wins. Six of those championship games ended in draws.
This year alone, Mayo and Galway have met three times, with Mayo having beaten the Tribesmen in the FBD League and the aforementioned Division 1 final, while their first round league game was drawn.
One crumb of comfort for Mayo fans heading to Salthill tomorrow is their recent record over Galway in Pearse Stadium. They have beaten their great rivals there in championship meetings in 2013, 2015 and 2020. Galway’s last championship win over Mayo in their home patch was in 2017.
In Saturday's preliminary quarterfinals, Cork beat Roscommon narrowly, Monaghan crept past Kildare, and Tyrone accounted for neighbours Donegal. Mayo and Galway have the chance to join them, but only one will prevail. Time will tell which team it will be.