Galway call up Joyce, Kerry go for Fitzmaurice

Galway and Kerry have each made one change for the Connacht and Munster football finals at the weekend. Tommy Joyce has come into the Galway team and Eamon Fitzmaurice is included in the Kerry side. The Connacht final is at Hyde Park on Saturday and the Munster match is at Semple Stadium on Sunday.

Joyce replaces Declan Meehan at left half-forward for the replay against Roscommon. Joyce came in as a substitute in the second half of the drawn match and made enough of an impression to retain the position. Meehan was substituted later in the match after taking a knock.

Galway retain their midfield partnership of Kevin Walsh and Sean O Domhnaill, with Gary Fahy back to full fitness at full back and Michael Donnellan at centre forward. Included in the Galway list of subs are their former first-choice goalkeeper Pat Comer and Meehan.

The scheduling of the match on Saturday evening - throw-in 4.45 - is something of a novelty and sources from Hyde Park suggest the match will attack a record crowd for a Connacht final, with racing fans from the Galway festival using it as a way to extend their holiday.

Kerry have named Eamon Fitzmaurice, who is from Finuge, at right corner back in their side to play Tipperary in Thurles. Fitzmaurice replaced Tomas O Se during the semi-final against Cork.

Fitzmaurice played a major part in Kerry's victory in the All Ireland under-21 final earlier this year, figuring at centre half-back.

Paidi O Se and his selectors were happy enough with the preparations following victory over Cork and do not appear to have any great concern about playing on Tipperary's home patch in Thurles. They will, in fact, probably relish the wide open spaces, which surely will remind them of their favourite pitch in Killarney. The Mayo county board has announced that John Maughan will continue as team manager for another three-year term. It is believed, however, that he will have a new panel of selectors.

Among those suggested as members of his back-up team are former Galway player Tomas Tierney, former Donegal and Mayo corner back Martin Carney and former Mayo stalwarts, Billy Fitzpatrick, TJ Kilgallon and Frank Noone.

Fitzpatrick has led Mayo junior teams successfully in recent times. He applied for Maughan's position when it became known that the county board was interested in a contest for the post but he withdrew after the situation was discussed at Monday's meeting of the Mayo executive.

The chairman of the Mayo board, PJ McGrath, yesterday indicated that Maughan's appointment would be ratified at a full county board meeting on Monday night.

It is also believed that the Offaly football team manager, Tommy Lyons, will continue in his post following a disappointing display in the Leinster championship. Offaly had a successful run in the National League and it is clear that Lyons would wish to build on the progress which has already been achieved.

When Kilkenny and Waterford meet in the All-Ireland hurling semi-final at Croke Park on August 16th it will be their first championship clash since 1963. The neighbouring counties last met in the All-Ireland final of that year when Kilkenny won by 4-17 to 6-8 in one of the highest-scoring finals in hurling history. No other team in Gaelic games has lost a match having scored six goals. In that 1963 final, such players as Ollie Walsh, Phil Larkin, Ted Carroll and Eddie Keher played for Kilkenny while Larry Guinan, Martin Og Morrissey, Tom Cheasty, Frankie Walsh and Philly Grimes were in action for Waterford. Galway's defeat by Waterford last Sunday means that the Connacht team have not registered a championship victory over any team except Roscommon since they beat Tipperary in the semi-final of 1993.

Kerry (SF v Tipperary): D O'Keeffe; E Fitz maurice, B O'Shea, S Stack; S Moynihan, L O'Flaherty, E Breen; D O Se, D Daly; P Laide, D O Cinneide, D O'Dwyer; M F Russell, J Crowley, M Fitzgerald. Subs: P O'Leary, K Burns, T O Se, N Kennedy, L Brosnan, J Brennan, C Kennedy, M Moynihan, J Ferriter.

Galway (SF v Roscommon): M McNamara; T Meehan, G Fahy, T Mannion; R Silke, J Divilly, S Og de Paor; K Walsh, S O Domhnaill; J Fallon, M Donnellan, T Joyce; D Savage, P Joyce, N Finnegan. Subs: P Comer, R Doyle, K Fallon, D Mitchell, B Silke, F Gavin, D Meehan, S Walsh, T Wilson.

Waterford (Under-21H v Cork, tonight): B Landers; E O'Sullivan, P Hammond, G Cullinan; J Murray, K McGrath, J O'Meara; D Ryan, D Bennett; D Shanahan, N Jacob, P Fitzgerald; B Hannon, M Murray, A Lannon.

Offaly (JF v Sligo): K Furlong; J Hurst, A Murphy, B Wynne; M Kennedy, P Mulvihill, D Quinn; D Kelly, P Connolly; G Comerford, B Bryant, C Brazil; J Kennedy, M Keeneghan, D Connolly.