Kerr forced to make changes

Brian Kerr, the Republic of Ireland manager, has added two of the players involved in next Tuesday's UEFA Under-18 play-off in Belfast to his preliminary panel of 35 for the World under-20 championship in Nigeria, which gets under way on April 3rd.

Three of the players originally named in the squad for Nigeria, Ritchie Partridge (Liverpool), James Gallagher (Celtic) and Martin Rowlands (Brentford), were forced to withdraw.

In their places the Ireland manager has named Colin Healy of Celtic and Exeter's Geogg Breslan, who are in the squad for the game against Northern Ireland, as well as Waterford United's Tim McGrath.

The Irish under-15 side's game against England in Preston tomorrow week (7.35) will be broadcast live by Sky Television.

Many of the country's best young players will be in action at Dalymount Park tomorrow night when a Brian Kerr International XI takes on a team drawn from the underage ranks of Bohemians, Cherry Orchard and Trinity Sports. The match is being organised for 16-year-old Michael McKiernan, for whom the second team is named, and in aid of the Oncology Unit at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children where Michael has been receiving treatment in recent months.

It is hoped that Michael, a league and cup winner with Bohemians at under-14 and under-15 levels, will be able to attend the game which will involve many of the youngsters he has played alongside in the past few seasons.

Tickets for the game, which kicks off at 7.30 tomorrow evening, are available from Dalymount Park, the Dublin and District Schoolboys' League offices or at the stiles on the night.

The FAI's disciplinary committee have handed three-match suspensions on the three Galway United players sent off recently at Terryland Park. Mark Revins, James Impey and Gareth Byrne are thus likely to miss the league encounters with Athlone, Limerick and Monaghan United.