GAA news:Eoghan O'Gara, who was a potent substitute in Dublin's win over Meath in last month's Leinster final, is the only change made by manager Pat Gilroy for their All-Ireland quarter-final with Laois at Croke Park on Saturday evening.
Introduced as a replacement for the injured Alan Brogan before half-time in the provincial decider, O’Gara has been rewarded with a starting position and is named at left-corner forward. Kevin McManamon is the player to lose out.
Brogan, last year’s ‘footballer of the year’, has recovered from the injury which forced his substitution aginst Meath and proved his fitness at training last night.
“It was a very, very minor tear . . . . I’m very confident he is okay. It was such a minor thing and we took him off early enough that it didn’t become more serious,” said Gilroy.
Diarmuid Connolly, who was suspended for the match with Meath, has failed to force his way back into the starting line-up.
Michael Darragh Macauley has again been named at full-forward but is expected to take a position further out the field in the same manner employed against Meath where he operated primarily in the half-forward line and as support to named centre-fielders Eamon Fennell and Denis Bastick.
Aidan O'Shea will again be kept in reserve when Mayotake on Downin the curtain-raiser at Croke Park on Saturday. James Horan has preferred to use the burly midfielder as an impact replacement so far this summer and will stick to his guns for the trip east.
Horan has named an unchanged side from that which stumbled over the line in the Connacht final against Sligo with Peader Gardiner, who missed that win, among the replacements.
Corkmanager Conor Counihan has made just one change to his side ahead of the meeting with Kildareon Sunday (2pm). The Rebels boss has centre back Graham Canty back after his captain recovered from injury to replace Eoin Cotter.
Kildare and Kerry, who face Donegal in the match of the weekend, are unchanged.
Mayo (SFC v Down, Croke Park, 5pm Saturday):D Clarke; K Keane, G Cafferkey, K Higgins; L Keegan, D Vaughan, C Boyle; B Moran, D Geraghty; K McLoughlin C O'Connor, A Dillon; E Varley, A Moran, J Doherty.
Dublin (SFC v Laois, Croke Park, 7pm Saturday):S Cluxton; M Fitzsimons, R O'Carroll, P McMahon; J McCarthy, K Nolan, C O'Sullivan; E Fennell, D Bastick; P Flynn, A Brogan, B Cullen; B Brogan, M Darragh Macauley, E O'Gara
Cork (SFC v Kildare, Croke Park, 2pm Sunday):A Quirke; R Carey, M Shields, E Cadogan; P Kissane, G Canty, N O'Leary; A O'Connor, A Walsh; F Goold, C Sheehan, P Kerrigan; C O'Neill, D O'Connor, N Murphy
Kildare (SFC v Cork, Croke Park, 2pm Sunday):: S Connolly; O Lyons, P Kelly, H McGrillen; E Bolton, M O'Flaherty, E Doyle; M Foley, R Kelly; E O'Flaherty, M Conway, A Smith; J Doyle (capt.), T O'Connor, J Kavanagh.
Kerry (SFC v Donegal, Corke Park, 4pm Sunday):B Kealy; M O'Se, A O'Mahony, S Enright; T O'Se, E Brosnan, K Young; A Maher, B Sheehan; P Galvin, D O'Sullivan, D Walsh; J O'Donoghue, C Cooper, K Donaghy.
