Tyrone refuse to gamble at full back

Tyrone will stick with the same team that got them to the Ulster final for Sunday's meeting with Cavan at Clones. The main talking point this week was whether Chris Lawn would be fit to return to his full back position, but joint managers Art McRory and Eugene McKenna decided against the gamble.

"The fear would be that he is not quite ready," said McRory. "It's been just five weeks since he suffered the broken hand and although his fitness is not bad, his ball work may be a little off."

While Lawn will be on the bench, that means that Colin Holmes will keep the position at full back, where he is joined by Ciaran Gourley and Michael McGee, two of seven members in the line-up which won last year's All-Ireland under-21 title.

Also in the team from that under-21 side is Declan McCrossan, both midfielders Cormac McAnallen and Kevin Hughes, and forwards Stephen O'Neill and Eoin Mulligan. O'Neill had a particularly good game in the semi-final win over Derry, scoring one of the three goals that proved to be the crucial difference between the sides. The other two goal scorers were Brian Dooher and Ger Cavlan.

This will be the first meeting between the two counties since the Ulster final of 1995, when Tyrone won the first of two successive titles.

There are only three survivors from the Tyrone team of that day, with long-serving goalkeeper Finbarr McConnell still between the posts and of course the Canavan brothers, Peter and Pascal. Peter will start at full forward and Pascal at left wing forward.

Still missing from the team are the two corner backs that started the quarter-final win over Armagh but who have been ruled out of the action with injuries ever since. Cormac McGinley is still suffering from the knee ligament injury although he has returned to training, while Paul McGurk is further off full fitness with an ankle injury.

One of the key areas of confrontation with Cavan will be at midfield. Dermot McCabe is back to his best for Cavan, and he proved it with a big game in their semi-final win over Monaghan, but McRory also believes his two men have yet to reach their full heights.

"Both Cormac McAnallen and Kevin Hughes are still under-21, and I think there is still a lot of improvement there and so the best of our midfield is yet to come. "

TYRONE (SF v Cavan): F McConnell; C Gourley, C Holmes, M McGee; R McMenamin, S Teague, D McCrossan; C McAnallen, K Hughes; B Dooher, S O'Neill, Pascal Canavan; E Mulligan, Peter Canavan, G Cavlan.