Eoin Murchan is reportedly in line to start for Dublin in Saturday evening's All-Ireland Senior football final replay at Croke Park.
Today Conor McKeon reports that Murchan is the likeliest of very few changes to the Dublin starting line up. the Na Fianna defender replaced John small as a blood sub on 58 minutes in the drawn final but was kept on for the duration of the game.
There is continued injury concern over Cian O'Sullivan and his hamstrings that have plagued his Dublin career. It makes O'Sullivan a doubt for Saturday's replay. The Kilmacud Crokes man suffered another tweak to his troublesome hamstring in the build-up to the final.
O'Sullivan was unable to take part fully in the warm-up two Sundays ago. Given how things panned out had he been fit, Gavin would surely have called on the services of a man with five All-Ireland and eight Leinster medals. Especially with the Dubs down to 14 men in the wake of Johnny Cooper's first-half red card.
Leading
Jim Gavin's men had a five-point lead that could have been six before the ball made its way to Killian Spillane for the crucial Kerry goal. Some experienced defensive calm would no doubt have been welcome, but O'Sullivan's hamstring ensured he was not called upon.
Murchan came on just before Tommy Walsh made it a one-point game. The Na Fianna man was effective in his cameo, including effecting a late turnover. Should Jim Gavin ring changes, they are expected to be relatively minimal, with no changes expected in the starting forwards.
The bench may be freshened up, with several calls for Bernard Brogan to make the subs list. No scores came from the subs in either the semi-final win or the drawn game, hence the calls for Brogan.
It wasn't just the bench who failed to contribute with Jack McCaffrey and Dean Rock providing 1-13 of Dublin's 1-16 total. It wasn't just the finishers who failed to contribute to the scoreboard.
They will need to contribute to secure that drive for five.
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