DERRY football selectors have made three changes to the side that were surprisingly held to a draw by Monaghan in the Ulster Senior Football Championship, for this Sunday's replay in Celtic Park.
Out of last weekend's starting 15 are injured corner back Emmet McKeever, centre forward Brian McCormack - who automatically misses the match after being sent off in the second half along with Monaghan's Joe Coyle and corner forward Ronan Rocks.
Back into the team after injury-enforced absences are Gary Coleman, who came on in the drawn match as a substitute, in place of McKeever, Seamus Downey at full forward and Gary McGill at right wing forward.
Dermot Heaney moves from full forward to the 40, while Joe Cassidy switches to the corner from wing forward to accommodate McGill's inclusion.
Some change had been expected in defence as the full back line were in difficulties in the drawn game. Selector Frank Kearney defended, however, the role of his full back David O'Neill. As in the NFL quarter-final against Laois, Derry were vulnerable in the air - a vulnerability exploited by Monaghan with two goals and a missed penalty resulting from high balls into the goal area.
"The problems arose because the organisation around him (O'Neill) didn't show itself. I thought we had sorted it out but David O'Neill is still a high-class full back.
"I remember him playing very well on a number of quality full forwards. But when he goes up in the air with a major priority of preventing the ball deflecting behind, it's going to bounce out and it's up to the defence as a unit to cover the break."
Monaghan are waiting until later today before announcing their line-out for the replay. According to manager Sean McCague, a number of fitness checks have to be administered before he and Eamonn McEneaney can complete their, selection.
The Westmeath team for the Leinster Championship replay with Offaly in Mullingar on Saturday shows only one change from the first day. Dermot Brady replaces Kenny McKinlay at corner back.
Meanwhile, Croke Park have yet to make an official announcement concerning the computing error that wrongly placed Kilkenny rather than Limerick in the draw for the semi-finals of the National Hurling League.
Sean O Laoire, permanent secretary to the Games Administration Committee, was yesterday rounding up referee's reports in order to compile an official scores tally for the two counties involved.
Unless the referees' views of the various matches differ from what's already in the public domain, the GAA will have to support Limerick's contention that they should receive an automatic semi-final spot, leaving Kilkenny to play Cork at the end of next month.
The scoring average system hangs in the air anymore, but he used to arbitrate between teams tied together on points is worked by dividing the sum total of scores in favour by the aggregate conceded.
Limerick have scored 9-88 (115 points) against 4-93 (105) giving an average of 1.095238. Kilkenny have scored 14-82 (124) against 13-76 (115) for an average of 1.0782608. A confirmation is expected today.
T na G has announced details of its plans to continue broadcasting old championship matches when its current series All-Ireland Gold, All-Ireland finals from the 1970s and `80s comes to an end.
Provincial Gold, starting next week, will feature mostly provincial finals but also a couple of All-Ireland semi-finals. The series begins next Thursday with the fourth and final match in the Dublin-Meath first-round saga from 1991.
