Tyrone minors favourites to topple Kerry

Tyrone take on Kerry in the All-Ireland minor football final in Croke Park today and the Kingdom, for once, go into an All-Ireland football final without the favourites tag firmly around their necks.

Kerry have not won the minor final for 10 years, while their opponents have reached the final three times in the last decade, winning on two occasions.

Tyrone have been one of the dominant forces in minor football for the last 10 years, playing second fiddle to only Laois, who Kerry defeated to earn a place in the final.

However, Laois were unlucky in their semi-final. They had not recovered from the fall-out of the fracas after the Cork quarter-final tie and two of their starting players were suspended for the clash with the Kingdom.

Tyrone have had the more difficult passage to the final - having disposed of Derry, Fermanagh, Donegal in Ulster and then Down in the provincial final. They overcame Roscommon in the quarter-final and met Down again in the semi-final after the Mournemen disposed of Galway.

However, as a result, they may not be as fresh as the boys from the Kingdom.

Kerry minor coach Sean Geaney obviously feels his side have no tired legs as he has kept faith with the team that ousted defending champions Laois for today's clash.

Tyrone have made two changes from the team which defeated Down.

Skipper Marc Cunningham and midfielder Shane O’Hagan have been recalled after missing out the win over the Mourne County through injury.

Cunningham, the star of three minor campaigns, leads the side and the attack from centre-forward.

Aidan Cassidy, who made his first start as Cunningham’s replacement last time out, holds on to his place, but moves to corner-forward, with Stephen Donaghy the player to lose out. O'Hagan returns to midfield, with Gerard McCaughey dropping down to the bench.

Brendan Boggs has failed to recover from an ankle injury and hasn't been listed among the substitutes.

KERRY (MF v Tyrone): B Kealy; P Reidy, L Quinn, K Young; D Doyle, C Kelliher; D O’Connor; B Moran, R Keating; M Evans, A Kenneally; M O’Donoghue; S Murphy, D O’Sullivan, P O’Connor.

TYRONE (MF v Kerry): J Curran; N McGinn, P Marlow, D Burke; J Gilmore, N Kerr, M Murray; R Mulgrew, S O’Hagan; C O’Neill, M Cunningham, R McCrory; G Devlin, C Cavanagh, A Cassidy.