It will be the end of the road for either Derrylin or St. Pat’s on Saturday as the championship reaches the real business of the knockout stages.

The two sides have played their football in Division One this season and held their own to secure their status for next year, but their immediate concern will be about progression in the Intermediate Championship with a spot in the last four the prize for the winner.

The O’Connells have recovered from a poor start to the championship when they lost heavily to Devenish to secure second spot after wins over Belcoo and Maguiresbridge, and finishing second brings that big incentive of home advantage.

Derrylin Manager Sean Donnelly is hoping that having the game on home soil will work in their favour, but he is expecting a tight game if the previous meetings this year are anything to go by.

“It will be the third time we’ve played them. We drew the first game and beat them the second time round by a few points, although they had a few lads missing the last time, so we are expecting a tight game.

“We have home advantage so that is something to work with,” he added.

Derrylin will be looking for big performances from the likes of Luke Flanagan, Danny Leonard and Jake Smith if they are to progress.

St. Pat’s boss Paul Hasson saw his side defeat Lisnaskea in their opener, but they have followed that up with successive losses to Tempo and Irvinestown as they finished third in Group B.

It is winning now though that is all that matters, acknowledges Hasson.

“It’s getting to the business end of the championship now that the group stages are over; it’s a real different feel when knockout stage comes along as these are the big championship games you want to play in the most.

“It’s a very difficult tie on Saturday, with no second chances for both teams, so anything other than a win isn’t good enough,” he said.

And he stresses that the Donagh outfit will have to produce a big performance if they are to reach the last four.

“Derrylin won the last several encounters we have played on their own patch so we know how difficult a place it is to go and come away with a victory, and we will need to play very well to make sure we are in the semi-final,” said Hasson.

Pat Grue, Johnny O’Reilly, Dara O’Reilly and Brian McDermott will all be key players for the Donagh men on Saturday evening.