GAELIC GAMES: Paul Caffrey has once again resisted any change and named the same Dublin team for Saturday's All-Ireland football quarter-final replay against Tyrone, which has a 2.30pm start in Croke Park.
Despite some apparent flaws in the drawn match, particularly in the second half, Caffrey is content to leave his starting 15 intact - as has been the case in all but one of Dublin's five championship matches this summer.
The Dublin manager would have had some hard thinking to do, however, as team captain and full back Paddy Christie and wing back Coman Goggins were called ashore in the second half of the drawn game just as Tyrone exerted pressure. Christie lasted only a few minutes on Tyrone full forward Stephen O'Neill before he was switched with Paul Griffin, and eventually replaced by Peader Andrews - and it remains to be seen where Caffrey will start Christie this time.
Caffrey keeps faith with Goggins despite the fact he was replaced by Darren Homan. Homan picked up a back injury in training last week and is still deemed somewhat doubtful even though he has been included in the substitutes.
Senan Connell and Darren Magee were also called into action late last Saturday week and are likely to play a similar role this time while Dessie Farrell, who saw about three minutes of action the last day, is lined up as another impact substitute.
The only switch Caffrey has made to his starting 15 so far in Dublin's campaign was before the Leinster semi-final with Wexford, where he named Mark Vaughan in place of Jason Sherlock. That was reversed when Sherlock scored a match-defining goal. Vaughan has since been limited to the substitutes' bench.
Tyrone will finalise their starting line-up tomorrow evening, and at least one change is expected there with midfielder Joe McMahon, who played such a pivotal role when introduced at half-time the last day, almost certain to get a starting berth. Peter Canavan could also be recalled to the starting line-up purely after the way he inspired his former pupil Owen Mulligan when introduced the last day.
Kerry manager Jack O'Connor hasn't shown the same resistance to change, however, dropping Dara Ó Cinneide and Mike Frank Russell for Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final against Cork. Both players were replaced during Kerry's quarter-final win over Mayo, and O'Connor has decided to keep them on the bench and reintroduce Paul Galvin, while giving Bryan Sheehan his first championship start at left corner forward.
Galvin's inclusion was anticipated as he had regained his old form when introduced for Liam Hassett some 50 minutes into the Mayo game - going on to score 0-3. Sheehan was later introduced for Ó Cinneide, and holds down a place at left corner forward in preference to Russell, who has been struggling with consistency.
Hassett keeps his place but moves to left wing forward to make way for Galvin, who is the indirect replacement for Ó Cinneide. With team captain Declan O'Sullivan reverting to full forward, Eoin Brosnan starts at centre forward. Otherwise the team is unchanged from that which beat Mayo.
Cork manager Billy Morgan follows Caffrey's trend and last night named an unchanged line-up. His decision is a little less surprising given Cork's memorable quarter-final win over Galway last Sunday week. The full-forward line of Philip Clifford, Brendan Jer O'Sullivan and John Hayes scored 2-7 of Cork's 2-14 the last day, and that was always going to remain intact.
It means there are just two changes from the Cork team that fell to Kerry in the Munster final on July 10th, with Clifford and O'Sullivan replacing Fintan Goold and Martin Ó Croinín. Owen Sexton continues to act as captain in place of Seán Levis, who remains a substitute.
Saturday's game is heading for sell-out with all 13,000 tickets on general sale yesterday snapped up. All remaining tickets are being distributed through the Dublin and Tyrone county boards. In the unlikely event of any surplus becoming available an announcement will be made later in the week.
Tickets for Sunday's semi-final are on sale from usual outlets, and from the GAA ticket office at the rear of the Cusack Stand tomorrow and Friday.
DUBLIN (SF v Tyrone): S Cluxton; P Griffin, P Christie, S O’Shaughnessy; C Goggins, B Cahill, P Casey; C Whelan, S Ryan; C Moran, A Brogan, B Cullen; J Sherlock, C Keaney, T Quinn.
KERRY (SF v Cork): D Murphy; M O Se, M McCarthy, T O’Sullivan; T O Se, S Moynihan, A O’Mahony; D O Se, W Kirby; P Galvin, E Brosnan, L Hassett; C Cooper, D O’Sullivan, B Sheehan.
CORK (SF v Kerry): K O’Dwyer; N Geary, G Canty, G Murphy; O Sexton, A Lynch, N O’Leary; D Kavanagh, N Murphy; J Masters, C McCarthy, K McMahon; P Clifford, BJ O’Sullivan, J Hayes.
Declan Browne inspired Tipperary to victory, 0-15 to 0-11, over Roscommon in the Murphy Cup senior football semi-final at Thurles yesterday evening.
Browne scored five points from play to progress Tipperary to face Wexford in the final. Roscommon led 0-7 to 0-4 after 23 minutes but Tipperary levelled by the interval at 0-8 each. Tipperary went 0-12 to 0-9 clear at the end of the third quarter and finished the stronger.
SCORERS: Tipperary: D Browne 0-7, B Hickey 0-5, B Mulvihill, B Lacey and A Fitzgerald 0-1 each. Roscommon: S Lohan 0-7, K Mannion 0-2, B Higgins and D Hoey 0-1 each.
