Place in last four the enticing prospect for Big Eight

Now it's really crunch time. Now every miss, every score, every turnover can make a difference as teams look to sustain their ambitions in the chase for the Mattie McDonnell Cup.

All the teams who are have reached the quarter-final stage will have shown the required defensive resolve and attacking verve needed to get this far. Some too will have relied on a smile from Lady Luck - but can they push on from here, take on the next step and make the semis?

Navan O'Mahonys, Bective, Meath Hill, Kilbride, Castletown, Moynalvey, Oldcastle and Ballivor are the teams left standing. The Big Eight - but who will make up the last four?

Navan O'Mahonys v Bective: They didn't start well, suffering a shock defeat to Walterstown in their opening round of the championship but since then the Hoops have found their form, impressively defeating St Michael's (1-11 to 0-5) and Kilbride (1-14 to 0-8) - and they should continue their winning ways in this contest.

Arguably their most noteworthy outing was that win over Kilbride, one of the nouveau riche teams in the IFC right now . Once in the zone O'Mahonys are very difficult to stop with Oisin O'Brien, Robbie Keelaghan and Aodhan Mallon among their top performers this season not only in open play but when it comes to converting chances into scores.

Maybe that opening round setback against the Blacks was the just the kind of kick in the derriere O'Mahonys needed to shake them out of any sense of complacency they might have harboured. Whatever the reason, they are producing, some fast-paced, swashbuckling football just now.

Bective will, of course, present a formidable challenge. They also suffered an opening day loss to Meath Hill (1-5 to 2-9) before getting back on the road against Blackhall Gaels (1-10 to 1-6) and securing a draw with Nobber (1-11 to 0-14), to make into the quarter-finals - but they just about made it through, relying on a late, late Marty Mulhall point in that Nobber tie to secure what they sought.

Bective have their quota of very capable footballers too such as Mulhall, Mark Dowdall, Mark O'Brien, Sean Keating but their neighbours look to have to much firepower and much else besides. Verdict - O'Mahonys.

Meath Hill v Kilbride: Don't be surprised if this has to go to extra-time. Both sides have shown the kind of form to make any observer of the local game sit up and take note. Take Meath Hill for instance. They are undefeated. Their first outing was a resounding 2-9 to 1-5 victory over Bective; it was a win that set the tone for the rest of their group campaign. Two more victories were bagged against Nobber (0-17 to 1-8) and Blackhall Gaels (0-16 to 1-6).

Meath Hill are a resolute, strong-willed team with players who have the confidence to win tight games as they demonstrated most powerfully earlier this year when defeating Oldcastle (2-8 to 0-10) in the Corn na Boinne final. They can produce composed, measured football one moment, while they can be aggressive and strong in the tackle the next. Gary Breslin is the kind of player who can score from play as well as convert frees.

Leo Turley's Kilbride have done extremely well in their first season back in the IFC. They are a well-honed, organised super-fit team with plenty of talented young players although they do rely a great deal on Josh Harford to translate chances into scores. They really miss ace forward David O'Leary when he is not available. However, Meath Hill are a hardened, experience bunch and they can secure a ticket into the semi-finals. Verdict - Meath Hill.

Castletown v Moynalvey: You have to admire a team that ships a heavy blow as Castletown did in losing their opening group game and end up topping their group. Castletown did just that. It was a real blow to them to lose out to Ballivor (2-11 to 1-15) in round one.

The green and golds regrouped and answered the doubters by surging on to win their other two group games, most noteworthy against Duleek/Bellewstown (1-8 to 0-9) and Longwood (0-14 to 1-8). It is after all only two years ago since Castletown won the Leinster Club JFC crown. Big game experience is not something they lack.

Yet Moynalvey are Moynalvey, a team that look fired up to show the world they belong back in the senior ranks. They can be as forceful and enterprising yet they look vulnerable at times, plagued by inconsistency. They comfortably got the better of Drumbaragh (1-18 to 1-8). They showed another, gritty side to their nature in their game by beating St Pat's, a game they should really have lost.

They trailed nearly all the way, kept battling and eventually prevailed 0-13 to 0-12 with Cillian O'Sullivan grabbing a late, late winner. The irrepressible David McLoughlin was brilliant in that game. The team as a collective simply refused to be subdued. The redoubtable qualities Moynalvey showed that day can help them to victory here. Verdict - Moynalvey.

Oldcastle v Ballivor: A really intriguing encounter that is sure to be close and uncompromising. Oldcastle qualified by topping Group C and one of the most startling aspects of their campaign was the fact that their scoring difference was +33, a very impressive difference indeed.

It's a statistic that underlines how they have harnessed some awesome scoring power so far with big wins in particular achieved in two of their three group games played, against St Pat's (4-11 to 0-10) and Moynalvey (2-15 to 0-6).

Ironicially their least noteworthy success was against bottom side Drumbaragh, 1-8 to 0-6. The Oldcastle team contains a coterie of players who have promised much in recent years and who could be accused of falling short but who are now certainly delivering.

Ballivor lost out to O'Mahonys in the quarter-final stage last year and they will be anxious to avoid the same fate. They finished second in a difficult Group B with a scoring difference of +12. Not bad either but some way off Oldcastle's prowess in front of the posts.

Brian O'Halloran, David Conneely, Brendan McKeon, Nicky Potterton are just some of the players in Ballivor's maroon colours who can make a big difference but Oldcastle look a formidable unit. They can advance.

Verdict - Oldcastle.