All-Ireland Football Final: Tyrone unchanged with McShane kept in reserve as Mayo make two changes

McShane has come on as a substitute in all four of Tyrone's championship games this year after sustaining a serious ankle injury in early 2020

Tyrone have opted to keep Cathal McShane in reserve after naming an unchanged team for Saturday's All-Ireland Football Final against Mayo.

McShane has not started a game this year but notched a crucial goal after coming on against Kerry two weeks ago.

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster on Friday morning, joint-boss Feargal Logan hinted McShane would stay on the bench.

Mayo, meanwhile, have made two changes from their win over Dublin as Enda Hession and Bryan Walsh come in.

As expected, half-back Eoghan McLaughlin is not deemed fit enough to start following the jaw injury he suffered in a controversial challenge by Dublin's John Small while Darren MacHale drops out out of the starting line-up after being replaced in semi-final.

Wing-back Hession made a big impression after his introduction late in the first half against Dublin and his inclusion was widely expected.

Tyrone's decision to apparently go with an unchanged starting team is also expected although late changes to selections are commonplace in the modern game.

Indeed, defender Oisin Mullin is not named in Mayo's starting line-up after missing the win over Dublin because of injury and it will not be a surprise to see his late inclusion in James Horan's line-up - given his defensive and offensive abilities.

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Asked on Good Morning Ulster about McShane's prospects of starting, Logan replied: "That will all flow over the next 24 hours but listen it's how you finish the games nowadays too that's critically important," said Logan.

McShane was out of action for more than a year after suffering a serious ankle injury during a Football League game against Galway in February of last year.

He made his Tyrone return after coming on as a substitute in his county's opening Ulster Football Championship win over Cavan on 10 July and has continued to be used as an impact option in his side's three games since then.

McShane appeared to struggle with his handling and the pace of the game in the Ulster Final win over Monaghan on 31 July but looked back to top form against Kerry as he hit 1-3 following his second-half introduction.

In his earlier Radio Ulster interview, Logan added: "We have a good panel of players and anyone could pop up at any time.

"Cathal has contributed brilliantly. He's had a long journey back from injury. Let's just hope it's a good day for Cathal and for everyone in Tyrone."

With the Tyrone squad now having recovered from their well-documented Covid-19 difficulties, the joint-manager said that the squad have been "in full football mode" since the surprise win over Kerry.

"We're looking forward to a very, very big game between Tyrone and Mayo. Everything is focused or as focused as we can get it.

"We've admired Mayo in all their endeavours over the years and they beat the team of teams in Dublin a couple of weeks ago and they are rightly placed as favourites.

"But it [reaching the All-Ireland Final] has been a great lift after all the goings on of the last year and a half."

Mayo: R Hennelly; P O'Hora, L Keegan, M Plunkett; P Durcan, S Coen, E Hession; M Ruane, C Loftus; D O'Connor, A O'Shea, B Walsh; K McLoughlin, T Conroy, R O'Donoghue.

Tyrone: N Morgan; M McKernan, R McNamee, P Hampsey; F Burns, P Harte, K McGeary; B Kennedy, C Kilpatrick; C Meyler, M O'Neill, N Sludden; D McCurry, M Donnelly, C McKenna. Subs: L Quinn, M Bradley, D Canavan, P Donaghy, N Kelly, T McCann, B McDonnell, HP McGeary, C McShane, J Munroe, C Shields/C Munroe