Kildare facing a tough task

DERRY v KILDARE KILDARE, FOR whatever reason, simply haven't clicked as a team this summer, although that's not saying they're not capable of it. They eventually beat Leitrim by nine points last Saturday, but only put them away in the last 10 minutes, thanks to a James Kavanagh goal – and that doesn't suggest a team oozing with confidence.

Dermot Earley has been named for the trip to Celtic Park, although it remains to be seen if he actually starts due to the knee injury sustained last weekend.

Gary White or David Whyte will likely start if Earley doesn’t play, but, in the meantime, the team is unchanged from last week.

John Doyle, Ronan Sweeney and Pádraig O’Neill need to be a lot more prolific in front of goal compared to the last day.

Derry manager Damian Cassidy has managed to lure Seán Martin Lockhart out of retirement to boost the defensive situation. The 33-year-old former All Star answered the call due to the unavailability of Michael McGoldrick and Kevin McCloy.

This is Kildare’s fifth championship game of the summer. They’re bound to deliver a better performance than last weekend, but, at Celtic Park, that mightn’t be enough to see them through.

KILDARE:S McCormack; P Kelly, H McGrillen, A Mac Lochlainn; M O'Flaherty, E Bolton, B Flanagan; D Flynn, D Earley; J Kavanagh, P O'Neill, E O'Flaherty; J Doyle, R Sweeney, E Callaghan

DERRY(TBC).

Referee: M Duffy (Sligo).