PETER McGRATH and his coselectors have placed full trust in the Down side that beat Cavan for next Sunday task against champions Tyrone in the Ulster Senior football championship final in Clones. Tyrone predictably are also unchanged.
The vote of confidence in the Down side who won their semi final at the same venue, despite their scoring rate almost coming to a complete halt in the second half, came after a strenuous training session in Newcastle last night.
That fade out against Cavan which saw them fail to build on a wonder goal by Gregory McCartan has been a source of real concern in the Down camp.
It was no surprise that target shooting for the forwards and midfielders was a priority last night. Attacking wing back PJ Kane expressed the hope that he, along with his fellow half backs Gary Mason and Michael Magill, will be able to get forward for scores in a manner that marked their display against Monaghan.
The very fact that McGrath was able to announce the same team as the semi final line up was a relief in itself, for full back Brian Burns had been nursing a leg injury and both midfielders, Gregory McCartan and Conor Deegan, took heavy knocks in the semi final. Burns, especially, will have a huge responsibility of curbing the form of Peter Canavan, who is on course to be named as the outstanding player in the championship.
Paul Devlin, the Tyrone right corner back, has recovered from the shoulder injury he picked up in the semi final against Derry. So they start with the same 15 players.
Meanwhile, Charlie Redmond's shin injury is on the mend, although a question mark still remains over whether he will be 100 per cent fit for Sunday's Leinster football final against Meath.
Dublin team manager Micky Whelan is also concerned about Joe McNally's hamstring injury ahead of naming his team this evening.
Meath's right corner back, Mark O'Reilly, will definitely be available for selection this evening. He has fully recovered from the facial injury sustained against Laois. But there remains a slight concern about goalkeeper Conor Martin's hamstring damage.
