Women's Champions League Round 1 Qualifier final
Athlone Town v ZNK Agram, Athlone Town Stadium, 4pm (live updates on RTÉ Sport Online, available to stream on LOITV)
It's a huge day for Athlone Town's women's team.
Formed five years ago, they're now potentially just 90 minutes away from a significant stride forward in the Champions League.
The old 16-team group stage has been replaced by an 18-club league phase, and to get there you must come through three rounds of qualifying.
Athlone - the reigning SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division champions - are in the first qualifying round. On Wednesday they breezed through the semi-final with a 4-0 hammring of Cardiff City. This afternoon, the challenge will be greater as Croatian outfit ZNK Agram come to Lissywollen.
Colin Fortune's side rose to the occasion on Wednesday; they must rouse themselves again if they're to set up a Round 2 clash against the Icelandic champions Breiðablik.
Last year Peamount United were beaten 2-1 in the Round 1 qualifier final by Osijek, Croatia's most successful women's team. The plucky Peas acquitted themselves well but ran out of gas in tough conditions. Temperatures were in the 30s, and Osijek were playing on home soil.
Athlone have the considerable advantage of being on their own patch today in front of a partisan crowd in more forgiving weather. It'll be mild and overcast at the Athlone Town Stadium, with the midlanders hoping to feed off the energy of another big attendance.
Over 1900 supporters watched them dismantle Cardiff - a huge turnout that signified the local interest in this team's European adventure.
Athlone know all about defying the odds of course. They still talk about the famous 0-0 draw against AC Milan back in 1975, and the narrow 3-2 loss against Standard Liege eight years later.
The men's team has been floundering of late; they're bottom of the First Division table having endured a tough season. The arrival of American Nick Giannotti as the club's new owner at the start of this month has given the club a shot in the arm, but it's the women's side - who have been on an upward curve since their entry into the league - who are once again leading the charge on the field.
Fortune had injury concerns about Izzy Groves, Madie Gibson and Kelly Brady on Wednesday but all three started and excelled in a dominant display. Agram would also have noted the performance of Hannah Waesch, brilliant in the middle of the park, while Roisin Molloy served more notice of her quality with a brace of goals.
This is a strong Athlone outfit - creative and tough. But what can we expect of their opponents?
In the middle of last season, six of Osijek's best players joined Agram after going on strike due to a dispute over bonuses in the wake of their Champions League run a year ago.
Zagreb-based Agram comfortably won the league, wrapping up their campaign with a 4-0 defeat of Osijek.
They've played four friendlies to sharpen up for this crucial showdown, beating Slovenian sides Primorje (12-0), Radomlje (4-1) and Ljubljana (1-0), as well as the Austrians LUV (12-1).
"Athlone brought in eight Americans and they have great ambitions, but so do we," said Agram head coach Vanja Kovac, who succeded Ivica Milkovic in late June.
"We have shown that we have quality, a great combination of youth and experience, and we are going for a win and passage to the second round."
Agram have to rent their pitch, and their players are in a similar boat to Athlone's in that they're essentially semi-professional. This is also their first time in the Champions League.
"Our biggest problem is that we do not have our own infrastructure," club president Nikola Domitrović told Croatian sports newspaper Sportske Novosti in May.
"We are a homeless club, we rent the courts of other clubs to be able to play.
"The official budget last year was about €150k.
"Osijek, Dinamo and Hajduk certainly have a bigger budget than us."
Defender Maja Lena Bicanic added: "We have the status of professional athletes. By some definition, the salary of a professional athlete should be enough for a normal life, but we are not yet at that level because women's football is not so developed or watched.
"We are not yet at the level where we can make a living from women's football, but we are making progress. You can't make a living from women's football."
It's a huge occasion for both clubs. Athlone were impressive on Wednesday, but Agram will be a much tougher nut to crack.
Expect this one to be tight and tense, with home boss Fortune hoping his main creative sparks catch fire when it matters most.
