GAELIC GAMES: Tommy Lyons has made a couple of interesting selections for the annual Dublin Blue Stars challenge games, which take place at the Thomas Davis club on Sunday. As part of his gradual redesign of the senior football squad, the new manager has recalled Ray Cosgrove and selected Eoin Bennis.
Cosgrove will start for Dublin for the first time since the 1999 Leinster final defeat to Meath. A member of Kimacud Crokes - where Lyons has previously coached - Cosgrove is named at full forward with Colin Moran and Johnny McNally on either side.
Bennis had concentrated on soccer with UCD for the past number of years but the former Dublin minor has been given a starting place at centre forward. Bennis was also one of the few fresh players to impress in the challenge game with Antrim before Christmas.
The Thomas Davis club, situated on Kiltipper Road, host the 12th edition of the challenge games, with the hurling challenge starting at 12.45 p.m. and the football at 2 p.m. With the national leagues less than a month away both senior managers will have a sharp eye on the proceedings.
Hurling manager Kevin Fennelly has put his side through some considerable training over the Christmas and will use this game as another test of form for some of the emerging talents like Shane O'Neill and Stephen Hiney.
Both games will also offer elements of a family outing. In the hurling, Kevin Ryan will find himself up against his older brother Liam, with Kevin playing at left corner-back for Dublin and Liam at centre forward for Blue Stars.
In the football, Declan Cahill will play full back on Lyons' Dublin team while his younger brother Martin will start at right full-back for the Blue Stars. Their cousin Barry has been selected at right half-back for Dublin.
That game will also mark the return to action for Coman Goggins - Dublin's lone All Star in 2001. He has recovered from the ankle injury suffered on the International Rules tour with Ireland in Australia last October.
Though named on the original Blue Stars selection, both Senan Connell and Jason Sherlock will be missing, as will Dessie Farrell who continues to get treatment on his knee injury.
Michael Crimmins has been dropped from the Galway hurling panel for the upcoming national league season. The county's goalkeeper has been given a break by team manager Noel Lane, in an effort to rejuvenate the Galway squad that lost the All-Ireland final to Tipperary last September.
Lane insists that Crimmins will still be in contention for his place come the championships next summer. But for the 24-year-old goalkeeper, who was also part of Athenry's losing Galway club final side last October, the decision will be a disappointment.
Crimmins was in fact nominated for an All Star this past season and despite a couple of minor errors, most notably against Tipperary, he is still regarded as one of the finest goalkeepers in the country.
