All-Ireland SFC Group Phase Round 2

GROUP 1

Saturday, June 3

Cork v Kerry, Pairc Ui Chaoimh, 3pm (GAAGO)

Ref: David Gough (Meath)

Paul Murphy makes his first start of the championship for Kerry since their Munster semi-final win over Tipperary.

His inclusion is one of two changes to the team that was defeated by Mayo in Round 1 with Killian Spillane also coming into the XV as Dylan Casey and Tony Brosnan drop to the bench.

Cork make two enforced changes to the team that defeated Louth in Round 1 with Rory Maguire and Kevin O’Donovan coming in for injured duo Sean Meehan and Tommy Walsh.

Kerry will be keen to lay down a marker in this match after the criticism that came their way following an uncharacteristically limp performance against Mayo.

Cork would only love to kick their neighbours while they’re down, but their defence will need to tighten up if they’re to pull off a shock.

KERRY: S. Ryan; G. O’Sullivan, J. Foley, T. O’Sullivan; P. Murphy, T. Morley, G. White; D. O’Connor, J. Barry; D. Moynihan, S. O’Shea, A. Spillane; P. Clifford, D. Clifford (c), P. Geaney.

Subs: S. Murphy, T. Brosnan, D. Casey, B.D. O’Sullivan, R. Murphy, M. Burns, M. Breen, Stephen O’Brien, D. O’Sullivan, C. O’Donoghue, Seán O’Brien.

CORK: MA Martin; M Shanley, R Maguire, K O'Donovan; L Fahy, D O'Mahony, M Taylor; C O'Callaghan, I Maguire; B O'Driscoll, R Deane, K O'Hanlon; S Powter, B Hurley, C Óg Jones. Subs: P Doyle, C Kiely, T Clancy, K Flahive, P Walsh, E McSweeney, B Murphy, J O'Rourke, M Cronin, S Sherlock, F Herlihy.

Sunday, June 4

Mayo v Louth, Hastings MacHale Park, 2pm (RTE2)

Ref: Noel Mooney (Cavan)

Mayo have made three changes to the team that beat Kerry in Round 1 of the group phase for Sunday’s clash with Louth.

Eoghan McLaughlin, who scored a fine goal in that win over the Kingdom, is ruled out with a hand injury.

Paddy Durcan, who came on as a sub against Kerry, starts in place of Padraig O’Hora, while Fionn McDonagh comes into the attack in place of Jason Doherty.

Louth make one change to the team defeated in Round 1 by Cork with Conor Grimes coming into the half-forward line in place of Bevan Duffy.

Mayo were terrific in that win over Kerry, playing with great drive and posing all sorts of question in attack.

Their middle eight dominated the physical exchanges and have the wherewithal to do that again here.

**MAYO:**C Reape; J Coyne, D McBrien, S Callinan; P Durcan, C Loftus, S Coen; M Ruane, D O'Connor; F McDonagh, J Carney, J Flynn; A O'Shea, J Carr, R O'Donoghue. Subs: R Byrne, T Conroy, J Doherty, E Hession, F Irwin, J McCormack, D McHugh, C McStay, P O'Hora, P Towey, B Tuohy.

LOUTH: James Califf; Dermot Campbell, Peter Lynch, Donal Mckenny; Leonard Grey, Niall Sharkey, Anthony Williams; Tommy Durnin, Conor Early; Conall Mckeever, Ciaran Downey, Conor Grimes; Paul Mathews, Sam Mulroy, Craig Lennon. Subs: Peter Mcstravick, Ryan Burns, Jonathan Commins, Bevan Duffy, Liam Jackson, Ciaran Keenan, Conall Mccaul, Daire Mcconnon, Oisin Mcguinness, Dylan Mckeown, Ciaran Murphy.

GROUP 2

Saturday, June 3

Westmeath v Galway, TEG Cusack Park, 5pm

Ref: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)

Galway make two changes to the team that defeated Tyrone in Round 1 of the All-Ireland SFC Group phase for Saturday’s trip to TEG Cusack Park to play Westmeath.

Cian Hernon makes his championship debut at right wing-back in place of the injured Dylan McHugh while Rob Finnerty also comes into the team as an indirect replacement for John Maher.

Good news for Galway comes in the inclusion of Sean Mulkerrin on the subs bench as he prepares to make his comeback from shattering a kneecap last year.

Westmeath make one change to the team that was edged out by Armagh in Round 1 with Ronan Wallace coming into the XV for Senan Baker.

The Lake County were arguably very unlucky to lose against Armagh having led for much of the game, and will be keen to show they can reach such a high level of performance again.

Galway, though, are arguably the best team in the country on current form, and if they can feed finishers like Damien Comer, Shane Walsh, Ian Burke, and Finnerty with enough ball will be hard to stop.

WESTMEATH: Jason Daly; Jack Smith, Kevin Maguire, James Dolan; Jamie Gonoud, Ronan Wallace, Andy McCormack; Sam Duncan, Ray Connellan; Sam McCartan, Ronan O'Toole, David Lynch; Luke Loughlin, John Heslin, Stephen Smith. Subs: Trevor Martin, Lorcan Dolan, Kieran Martin, Eoin Mulvihill, Conor Dillon, Senan Baker, Jonathan Lynam, David Giles, Robbie Forde, Shane Dempsey, Conor McCormack

GALWAY: C. Gleeson; J. McGrath, S. Kelly (c), J. Glynn; C. Hernon, J. Daly, C. McDaid; P. Conroy, P. Cooke; M. Tierney, D. Comer, J. Heaney; I. Burke, R. Finnerty, S. Walsh.Subs: B. Power, S. Fitzgerald, S. Mulkerrin, B. Mannion, J. Maher, P. Kelly, N. Daly, C. Sweeney, M. Barrett, D. Conneely, T. Culhane.

Tyrone v Armagh, O'Neills Healy Park, 7pm (RTE2)

Ref: Martin McNally (Monaghan)

Niall Sludden returns to the Tyrone team for this clash with neighbours Roscommon in place of Frank Burns who was red-carded in the first-round loss to Galway.

Armagh make two changes to the team that edged out Westmeath in Round 1 with Callum Cumiskey and Conor Turbitt coming in for James Morgan and Aidan Nugent respectively.

Both of these teams struggled to get the most out of their dangerous inside forwards in Round 1 and the key to victory here will be who can make the biggest improvement in this regard.

Tyrone won by two points at home against Armagh in the League and this match is likely to come down to similarly tight margins.

**TYRONE:**N Morgan; M McKernan, R McNamee, P Hampsey; C Quinn, M O'Neill, P Harte; B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; C Meyler, J Oguz, N Sludden; D McCurry, M Donnelly, D Canavan. Subs: L Quinn, R Canavan, A Clarke, N Devlin, R Donnelly, N Kelly, N McCarron, K McGeary, M McGleenan, S O'Donnell, C Shields.

ARMAGH: E Rafferty, C O'Neill, A McKay, A Forker, G McCabe, C Cumiskey, J Òg Burns, B Crealey, C Mackin, J Duffy, R Grugan, S Campbell, C Turbitt, R O'Neill, A Murnin. Subs: S Magill, P Burns, C Higgins, B McCambridge, R McQuillan, J Hall, A Nugent, S McPartlan, O Conaty, C McConville, S Sheridan

GROUP 3

Saturday, June 3

Kildare v Dublin, UPMC Nowlan Park, 5pm (GAAGO)

Ref: Sean Hurson (Tyrone)

The named Dublin team for this clash with Kildare is more notable for who isn’t in it than who is.

Jack McCaffrey, who hasn’t played since being replaced in the Leinster Final after 32 minutes, missed out through injury again.

David Byrne, who was forced off injured against Roscommon in the last round is replaced in the team by Cian Murphy who also came on for him that day.

Kildare have named the same team that drew with Sligo in their first match of the Group phase.

These two teams have already met twice in competitive action this year with Dublin coming out on top in both by narrow margins – one point in the League and two points in the Leinster semi-final.

That form graph suggests another tough battle here, with the caveat that if the Dublin inside forward line of O’Callaghan, Mannion, and Costello all click on the same day they’ll be hugely difficult to contain.

DUBLIN: S Cluxton; D Newcombe, M Fitzsimons, C Murphy; B Howard, J Small, L Gannon; B Fenton, J McCarthy; N Scully, S Bugler, C Kilkenny; P Mannion, C O'Callaghan, C Costello. Subs: D O'Hanlon, C Basquel, T Lahiff, S McMahon, G McEneaney, R McGarry, P O'Cofaigh-Byrne, L O'Dell, K O'Gara, D Rock, P Small.

KILDARE: M Donnellan; M O'Grady, S Ryan, E Doyle; D Hyland, K Flynn, J Sargent; K O'Callaghan, A Masterson; P McDermott, P Cribbin, A Beirne; K Feely, D Kirwan, P Woodgate. Subs: A O'Neill, T Archbold, D Flynn, B Coffey, B Gibbons, D Malone, N Flynn, M Joyce, B McCormack, R Houlihan, M Kelly.

Sunday, June 4

Roscommon v Sligo, Dr Hyde Park, 3pm (GAAGO)

Ref: Conor Lane (Cork)

Roscommon make one change to the team that drew in Round 1 with Conor Daly coming in as an indirect replacement for Donie Smith.

That makes for a few positional switches with Dylan Ruane moving from wing-back to midfield and Enda Smith moving from midfield to centre-forward.

Sligo make two changes to the team that drew with Kildare in Round 1, both in attack, as Pat Spillane and Keelan Cawley come in for Alan Reilly and Darragh Cummins.

Roscommon proved when drawing with Dublin in Croke Park last weekend they’re one of the top teams in the country right now

Defensively very solid, patient in possession, and with a variety of forwards who can take a score.

Sligo are a team on an upward curve, but a more seasoned Roscommon should have an edge.

ROSCOMMON: Conor Carroll; Conor Hussey, Brian Stack, David Murray; Niall Daly, Eoin McCormack, Conor Daly; Dylan Ruane, Eddie Nolan; Ciaráin Murtagh, Enda Smith, Ciarán Lennon; Cian McKeon, Ben O'Carroll Diarmuid Murtagh. Subs: Colm Lavin, Colin Walsh, Niall Kilroy, Richard Hughes, Keith Doyle, Conor Cox, Cian Connolly, Donie Smith, Shane Cunnane, Paul Carey, Ruaidhrí Fallon

SLIGO: Aidan Devaney; Evan Lyons, Eddie McGuinness, Nathan Mullen; Paul McNamara, Brian Cox, Luke Towey; Cian Lally, Paul Kilcoyne; Finnian Cawley, Sean Carrabine, Keelan Cawley; Pat Spillane, Patrick O Connor, Niall Murphy. Subs: Daniel Lyons, Alan Reilly, David Quinn, Eoghan Smith, Gerard O'Kelly Lynch, Jack Lavin, Joe Keaney, Kenny Gavigan, Luke Nicholson, Mark Walsh, Mikey Gordon

GROUP 4

Sunday, June 4

Monaghan v Clare, Clones, 2pm

Ref: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh)

Monaghan make one change to the team that drew with Derry in Round 1 as Jack McCarron comes into their attack in place of Dessie Ward.

Clare keep faith with the same team that fell to a five-point defeat to Donegal in their last match.

That home match against Donegal would have been one Clare targeted, so they’ll have been disappointed with how they faded out of the contest in the second-half after dominating the first.

With forwards like Eoin Cleary, Keelan Sexton and Emmet McMahon they’re in with a chance here if they can guarantee them a good supply of ball.

But Monaghan’s form in their Round 1 draw with Derry was more convincing and the return of McCarron should add more firepower to their attack.

MONAGHAN: Rory Beggan; Ryan O'Toole, Kieran Duffy, Ryan Wylie; Karl O'Connell, Conor Boyle, Conor McCarthy; Karl Gallagher, Killian Lavelle; Stephen O’Hanlon, Michael Bannigan, Ryan McAnespie; Jack McCarron, Gary Mohan, Shane Carey; Darren McDonnell, Kieran Hughes, Conor McManus. Subs: Kevin Sheridan, Darren Hughes, Thomas McPhillips, Kevin Loughran, Fabian Beggan, Darragh McElearney, Francie Hughes, Colm Lennon

CLARE: Stephen Ryan; Ronan Lanigan, Cillian Brennan, Cillian Rouine; Ciaran Russell, Jamie Malone, Cian O'Dea; Cathal O'Connor, Darren O'Neill; Daniel Walsh, Emmet McMahon, Pearse Lillis; Eoin Cleary, Keelan Sexton, Pádraic Collins. Subs: David Sexton, Darragh Bohannon, Thomas Kelly, Manus Doherty, Micheal Garry, Aaron Griffin, Shane Griffin, Mark McInerney, Brian McNamara, Alan Sweeney, Ikem Ugweru

Donegal v Derry, Ballybofey, 4pm (RTE2)

Ref: Brendan Cawley (Kildare)

Donegal captain, Patrick McBrearty, returns to their match-day panel for the first time in four months for Sunday’s clash with neighbours Derry.

McBrearty hasn’t featured since tearing his hamstring in their second-round League clash against Tyrone in February, an injury that required surgery.

The Donegal team features two changes to the side that beat Clare last time out with Caolan McColgan coming in for John Ross Molloy and Jason McGee replacing Rory O’Donnell at midfield.

Derry, meanwhile, keep faith with the same team that drew with Monaghan in Round 1.

DERRY: O Lynch; C McKaigue, E McEvoy, C McCluskey; C Doherty, G McKinless, P McGrogan, C Glass, B Rogers; N Toner, P Cassidy, E Doherty; C McFaul, S McGuigan, N Loughlin. Subs: R Scullion, D Cassidy, B Heron, D Downey, L Murray, B McCarron, P McNeill, Padraig Cassidy, C McGilligan, M Doherty, D Baker.

DONEGAL: S Patton; M Curran, B McCole, C McColgan; C Ward, E Ban Gallagher, O Doherty; C McGonagle, J McGee; D O Baoill, J Brennan, C Thompson; H McFadden, O Gallen, C O'Donnell. Subs: G Mulreaney, P McBrearty, J McKelvey, B O'Donnell, J Ross Molloy, L McGlynn, J McGroddy, S McMenamin, K Tobin, R O'Donnelly, D Dorrian.