Armagh stick to the tried and tested

Team news: Armagh will start their third round football qualifier against Dublin on Saturday with all but four of the team that won the All-Ireland title last September.

Manager Joe Kernan finalised his selection last night, and it also shows just four changes from the team that beat Antrim in the second round of the qualifiers last Sunday week.

Missing from the All-Ireland winning side is goalkeeper Benny Tierney (retired), as well as defender Justin McNulty, midfielder John Toal, and forward Ronan Clarke. Into the team comes Paul Hearty, Andy Mallon, Philip Loughran, and Tony McEntee.

The changes from the Antrim line-up for the game at Croke Park sees Francie Bellow return to the defence, Enda McNulty get the nod to play in the backs, while Paddy McKeever and John McEntee return to the forward line in place of Barry O'Hagan and Ronan Clarke.

While Dublin will train later this evening, it appears manager Tommy Lyons is once again intent on keeping his team selection privy to any outsiders until minutes before the throw-in on Saturday.

Unlike the five changes he made before the Derry game, however, it is not expected he will make any great alterations this time.

The only area certain for consideration is midfield, but only because Darren Homan is suffering badly with the shoulder injury picked up in the course of the six-point win over Derry.

While an X-ray on Monday ruled out the fears of a broken collarbone, it is known that Homan has done some ligament damage in the area, which normally can take between two to three weeks to heal. The plan at this stage is to undergo physio treatment for the rest of the week and make a final decision on Saturday.

The only other injury concern after last Saturday was over forward Ray Cosgrove, who appeared to limp off late in the game, although he is reported to be all clear to line out again.

Away from the qualifiers, both Galway and Mayo will finalise their teams for the Connacht football final on Sunday after their training sessions this evening. Galway manager John O'Mahony had a few minor concerns over the player injuries over past week, including Matthew Clancy and Gary Fahey, but he is now in a position to name his strongest possible side.

One of the main talking points in Galway is whether or not O'Mahony will include Nicholas Joyce in his starting line-up. A member of last year's successful under-21 side, the Kilkererin player has been producing some remarkable scoring totals in challenge games.

Mayo manager John Maughan, however, is now resigned to the loss of his number one goalkeeper Peter Burke, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee cruciate injury, but the rest of the 32-strong panel are free from injury. Yesterday Maughan also ruled out any dramatic return of Kieran McDonald before Sunday's game.

In hurling, meanwhile, the teams for Sunday's Leinster final between Kilkenny and Wexford at Croke Park will also be decided after training tonight. There is good news in both camps, with Kilkenny goalkeeper James McGarry set to return from his recent lay-off with an ankle injury.

Wexford full back Darragh Ryan is also back in contention for his starting place after fully recovering from a knee operation. Manager John Conran still has some debating to do over midfielder Rory McCarthy, who has had only limited training in recent weeks having suffered a broken finger in the dramatic semi-final win over Offaly.

Elsewhere, the Dublin minor football team to play Louth in this evening's Leinster semi-final in Navan shows two changes from the side that previously beat Meath. Aidan Downes, missing the last day because of injury, returns to the right full-back position in place of Seamus Kinsella, while Chris Moore starts at wing forward at the expense of John O'Brien.

Finally, a statement issued yesterday by the Cavan County Board outlined their disappointment at the GAC decision to award Sunday's football qualifier between Meath and Fermanagh to Clones, rather than to Breffni Park in Cavan.

"There should be a fairer distribution of qualifier games to other venues," said chairman George Cartwright. "It is obvious that certain elements of the GAC are contriving to bring every game in the northern half of the country to Clones, while Breffni Park, which has just completed a €3 million upgrade, was tailor made for the Meath-Fermanagh game."

ARMAGH (SF v Dublin): P Hearty; A Mallon, E McNulty, F Bellow; A O'Rourke, K McGeeney, A McCann; P Loughran, P McGrane; P McKeever, J McEntee, O McConville; S McDonnell, D Marsden, T McEntee.

DUBLIN (MF v Louth): K Walsh; A Downes, K Cleere, C O Morain; D Reilly, G Brennan, I Ward; J Coughlan, B Phelan; C Moore, B Kennedy, C Noone; A Relihan, F Fitzgerald, J O'Hara.