Galway manager Alan Mulholland hasn’t wasted any time reacting to the disappointing defeat to Louth in last Saturday’s re-fixed Division Two fixture of the Allianz Football League, making five changes for this Sunday’s game against Westmeath.
After the positive first round win over Derry, Galway fell tamely enough to Armagh, and now host Westmeath, who currently top Division Two, in Sunday’s game, switched from Pearse Stadium to Tuam.
Mulholland has given starting places to John Egan in goal, Gary O’Donnell in defence, Anthony Griffin at midfield, and John O’Brien and Mark Hehir in the forwards, with Manus Breathnach, Cathal Sweeney, Michael Martin, Seán Armstrong and Danny Cummins all making way accordingly.
Hehir joins Eoin Concannon and Michael Meehan in the full forward line, and the hope is Meehan can rediscover more of the scoring brilliance he showed the first day against Derry.
Westmeath will travel without the injured Dessie Dolan, although manager Pat Flanagan does welcome back Doran Harte to the defence, following his suspension, red-carded against Louth in the opening round.
Ciarán Curley is named at full forward in place of the experienced Dolan, but otherwise Westmeath are unchanged.
Showdown against Dublin
As expected, both Alan Dillon and Cillian O’Connor will miss Mayo’s showdown against Dublin in Croke Park this Saturday evening: Dillon has suffered a recurrence of a leg injury that has kept him out of action for most of the last four months, while O’Connor is still recovering from a broken collarbone.
Manager James Horan has made five changes from the team that lost of to Tyrone by a single point in round two: Kenneth O’Malley, Donal Vaughan, Jason Gibbons, Barry Moran and Enda Varley will start time, in place of David Clarke, Kevin Keane, Tom Cunniffe, Séamus OShea and Cathal Freeman – with Gibbons and Moran now partnering at midfield pairing, while Vaughan returns to the centre back.
There is also the interesting positioning of Aidan O’Shea at centre forward, fresh from helping DIT claim their first Sigerson Cup success last Saturday.
Tipperary GAA chairman Seán Nugent has criticised the move by the Revenue Commissioners to target gate-checkers operating at the county’s match day venues. It has emerged that gate-checkers working in the county will now be subject to end-of-year P35 tax returns.
GALWAY(SF v Westmeath): John Egan; Johnny Duane, Finian Hanley, Joss Moore; Gary O'Donnell, Gary Sice, Gary Sweeney; Niall Coleman, Anthony Griffin; John O'Brien, Paul Conroy, Seán Denvir; Eoin Concannon, Michael Meehan, Mark Hehir. MAYO (SF v Dublin): Kenneth O'Malley; Chris Barrett, Ger Cafferkey, Keith Higgins; Lee Keegan, Donal Vaughan, Colm Boyle; Jason Gibbons, Barry Moran; Kevin McLoughlin, Aidan O'Shea, Richie Feeney; Enda Varley, Jason Doherty, Michael Conroy. WESTMEATH(SF v Galway): Gary Connaughton; Mark McCallon, Kieran Gavin (capt), Kevin Maguire; Micheál Curley, Doran Harte, James Dolan; Denis Corroon, John Heslin; Ger Egan, Callum McCormack, Kieran Martin; Ronan Foley, Ciarán Curley, Denis Glennon.
