Cork ladies name strong team for must-win championship battle against Kerry in Tralee

BY JACKIE CAHILL

CORK boss Ephie Fitzgerald has named 12 survivors from the team that lost out to Dublin in the 2019 TG4 All-Ireland semi-final for Saturday’s crunch live TV clash with Kerry (3pm throw-in).

The Rebels make the trip to Austin Stack Park knowing that defeat against the Kingdom would see them eliminated from the 2020 competition after just one game.

A Kerry win, following on from victory over Cavan last Sunday, would see the Kingdom through to the semi-finals.

But Cork have packed their team with key names and all but three of those in the starting team lined up to face the Dubs at Croke Park in August 2019.

Aisling Kelleher, Roisin Phelan and Áine Terry O’Sullivan are all handed starts for this pivotal tie, with Eimear Kiely on the bench, and Eimear Scally and Niamh Cotter not in Cork’s match-day squad.

There are two changes to the Kerry starting line-up, with Ava Doherty and Andrea Murphy getting the nod to start in defence and attack respectively.

Doherty replaces Cáit Lynch, who went off injured early against Cavan, while Danielle O’Leary was replaced by Murphy after 25 minutes of that win, and Murphy starts this time.

Cork (v Kerry): M O’Brien; A Kelleher, R Phelan, E Meaney; M Duggan, S Kelly, A Hutchings; M O’Callaghan, H Looney; O Farmer, C O’Sullivan, O Finn; Á O’Sullivan, D O’Sullivan (capt.), S Noonan.

Kerry (v Cork): C Butler; A Doherty, A Desmond, S Murphy; N Carmody, A O’Connell, C Murphy; L Scanlon, M O’Connell; N Ní Chonchúir, A Murphy, A Galvin (capt.); H O’Donoghue, S O’Shea, L Ní Mhuircheartaigh.