Armagh ring the changes for replay

Both Donegal and Armagh have made changes for Sunday's Ulster football championship replay in Clones. Donegal have made two alterations whereas Armagh have dropped three players after last weekend's entertaining draw in Ballybofey.

The Armagh players to lose out are corner back Mark McNeill, wing forward Peter Loughran and full forward Cathal O'Rourke. Diarmuid Marsden has not been named in the starting line-up despite appearing as a substitute last Sunday when he played well.

Joint-manager Brian Canavan confirmed that Marsden aggravated the groin injury which has interrupted his year for the past two months.

"If he's not fit, we can't play him," he said, "and last week we ended up using him earlier in the match than we had intended and that has set him back a bit. We hope not to have to play him this Sunday but the problem is that there comes a time when you have to send him on or else he's got all summer to get over the injury."

Into the team come John McEntee of dual All-Ireland club champions Crossmaglen, championship debutant Alan O'Neill and David Wilson, who made his first championship appearance last weekend as a substitute. The substitutes have yet to be named.

It is a bold move by joint managers Canavan and Brian McAlinden as McNeill and O'Rourke are among the most experienced players on the panel with 15 years of championship between them. McEntee's inclusion is at the expense of McNeill with Enda McNulty moving back to the corner after starting the last day at midfield. Loughran impressed during the National League run, particularly in the drawn semi-final against Dublin, but his championship debut last week didn't go very well. In common with the two other dropped players, O'Rourke and McNeill, Loughran was substituted during the drawn match.

"It was an amazing game," said Canavan. "We conceded seven points in 10 minutes, came back and took the lead with a minute to go and again in injury-time and still we didn't win. I think Donegal tried to defend their lead last week and will need to be more positive this time."

Canavan was particularly happy with the performance of McEntee. "Its about the fourth game we've put him into but the first one in which he's done really well. Sometimes a player does that as a substitute and then doesn't play as well when you start him but John has a good bit of experience. He's not the paciest but he comes onto breaking ball at kickouts, knocks the ball into space and can score as well."

Despite the fact that the team was caught at the end, Canavan feels that Armagh have benefited from the drawn match. "After losing to Dublin in the league, confidence was low, it dropped them down a bit. This week things have been a bit more buoyant."

Donegal manager Declan Bonnar has brought in Shane Carr at left corner back for Eamonn Reddin while Michael Hegarty replaces John Duffy on the right wing of the attack.

Both the dropped players were replaced during the drawn match although not by the men who replace them on Sunday. Hegarty did make an appearance, coming on for Adrian Sweeney, and shooting the injury-time equaliser.

In Laois the controversy over Colm Parkinson's omission from the team to play Westmeath on Sunday has rumbled on. After a day of reports that the player had walked out on the county panel and would spend the summer in the US, confirmation came that he had not attended training with the team in Portlaoise.

Manager Tom Cribben said that he had heard nothing from the player about his plans to leave the panel and the country but that he hoped to contact him today.

Parkinson was a star of the Laois underage teams which won minor All-Irelands and contested last year's under-21 final against Kerry. He was also included in Colm O'Rourke's panel to contest the International Rules series against Australia last autumn.

His dropping arose after arguments between himself and Laois manager Tom Cribben about Parkinson's style of play. A wing back who enjoys going forward, his sense of adventure was felt to be creating pressure on his colleagues in defence. Failure to curb that style and pay attention to his primary duties was at the heart of the decision to drop him.

It is however believed that Parkinson was to be the first substitute for the match against Westmeath, who ironically are the county which surprisingly ousted Laois from this year's under-21 championship before going on to record a memorable All-Ireland victory in the grade.

Meanwhile details of this year's All-Ireland Poc Fada have been announced. Last year's winner Albert Kelly of Offaly has confirmed that he will be defending his title in the Cooley Mountains on the August Bank Holiday, August 2nd. The event which was founded in 1961 is organised by a joint committee of the Louth and Armagh county boards.

Previous winners feature a high number of well-known goalkeepers: Cork's Ger Cunningham, who has retired from inter-county hurling after 18 seasons of championship activity; the late Ollie Walsh of Kilkenny; and Limerick's Tommy Quaid, who sadly died last November after an accident at work.

The Leinster Council has announced that stand and terrace tickets for Sunday's double bill at Croke Park will be on sale at the council's offices in Portlaoise today between 10.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. tomorrow while stocks last.

Donegal - T Blake; D Diver, M Crossan, S Carr; N Hegarty, M Coll, N McCready; J Ruane, J McGuinness; M Hegarty, A Sweeney, J Gildea; B Roper, T Boyle, B Devenney.

Armagh - B Tierney; E McNulty, G Reid, J McNulty; C Hughes, K McGeeney, A McCann; J Brns, P McGrane; A O'Neill, J McEntee, J Rafferty; D Wilson, P McKeever, O McConville.