TEAM NEWS: RYAN McMENAMIN has been dropped from the Tyrone team for tomorrow evening's All-Ireland football quarter-final against Dublin at Croke Park – but the three-time All-Ireland winning defender is still likely to play some role.
Although McMenamin wasn’t even named among the Tyrone substitutes, these were merely listed in alphabetical order for programme purposes – and as only 26 names can be submitted, McMenamin didn’t make the cut, temporarily at least.
However, according to Tyrone press officer Damian Harvey, McMenamin is still very much part of manager Mickey Harte’s plans for the Dublin game, and a couple of changes to the substitution list are likely to be made prior to throw-in.
For now McMenamin must be content with a place on the bench, as a fully-fit Justin McMahon is given the nod at left corner back, alongside his brother Joe, and Martin Swift, who is deemed fit to start despite sustaining a broken nose in last Saturday’s fourth round qualifier win over Roscommon. There are two further changes in the forward line, as Owen Mulligan returns to the starting line-up in place of Kyle Coney at left corner forward, while Martin Penrose gets the nod ahead of Tommy McGuigan in the other corner. Team captain Brian Dooher and forward Stephen O’Neill are also set to stage impact-substitute roles like they did against Roscommon.
Dublin manager Pat Gilroy will unveil his team this morning, with at least one change from the team that beat Wexford in the Leinster final four weeks ago, as forward Eoghan O’Gara is ruled out with a broken wrist.
In a surprising move, Kerry’s second choice midfielder Micheál Quirke has decided to opt out of manager Jack O’Connor’s panel for the remainder of the championship. The move was confirmed in a statement on the Kerry GAA website last night: “Micheál Quirke has removed himself from the Kerry Senior Football Panel for the remainder of the championship due to a series of niggling injuries that have curtailed his game time and his ongoing personal commitments.”
Waterford hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald has delayed until later today the naming of his team to face Kilkenny in Sunday’s All-Ireland hurling semi-final at Croke Park.
TYRONE(SF v Dublin): P McConnell; M Swift, Joe McMahon, Justin McMahon; Sean O'Neill, C Gormley, P Jordan; K Hughes, S Cavanagh; C Cavanagh, B McGuigan, P Harte; M Penrose, M Donnelly, O Mulligan.
