Cross to fight loss of skipper for final

Crossmaglen are all but certain to contest captain Stephen Kernan’s second-half dismissal, which threatens to rule him out of their second successive All-Ireland final on St Patrick’s Day.

With time bans still applying at club level, a four-week suspension for a Category II offence would deny him the chance to lead the club against Garrycastle as it must be inclusive of the next game in the competition.

Kernan, who scored Crossmaglen’s second goal in their second-half fightback against Dr Crokes on Saturday, was dismissed by David Coldrick in Portlaoise on Saturday after he consulted with a linesman.