While both were relegated to Division Three for next season, there was a huge gulf in how Ballyhegan and Collegeland performed this season.
Ballyhegan struggled from start to finish in the league and were relegated with just two points beside their name.
They defeated Clonmore by the minimum of margins in round 11, but their fate was known before that.
Joe Feeney faced a difficult task in taking over a Davitt’s side that were minus a number of key personnel.
Missing men
Both the Courtney brothers Mel and Paul stepped away this year. Star forwards Conal McKeever and James McCormack were also unavailable throughout the season.
The fitness of Jack Rafferty is crucial to their chances as he was injured for a while during the league campaign.
Ballyhegan will look to Rafferty, Armagh panellist Peter McGrane and the experienced Mark Hughes to carry the fight this weekend.
Collegeland will consider themselves unlucky to be sent back down to the basement division. They were promoted having won the Junior Championship in 2019.
A core group of that team make up the current panel and, on their day, Collegeland can cause anyone trouble.
Niall Brady and Cathair McGeary were on the Armagh panel in recent years while Paraic McGeary is a 2019 Club All-Star.
In Shane Donnelly and Jason Kelly, they have two inside forwards that will pose huge questions of any defence.
Collegeland won both meetings during the league and were comprehensive victors in the most recent clash.
They managed to put four goals past the opposition as they eased to a 4-13 to 1-9 win just four weeks ago.
Collegeland head into this one knowing that they should have enough to make it through to the next round.
For Ballyhegan, it’s about building for the future. A win is not outside their reach, but they’ll have to perform at their max to cause an upset.
