'Doubtful' Moran included in Mayo side

Mayo injury doubt Barry Moran will be given every chance to prove his fitness ahead of Sunday's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final clash with Meath at Croke Park (throw-in 2pm).

Moran broke a metacarpal bone in his hand at training last week, but manager John O'Mahony has kept 'the door open' for him as he continues his recovery.

He has named the Castlebar Mitchels clubman in the Mayo starting line-up for this weekend's game, despite growing doubts over whether he will be fit to start the game.

Should Moran not make it, Billy Joe Padden or Tom Parsons are favoured to slot in at full-forward. Moving teenager Aidan O'Shea there and bringing Conor Mortimer into the forward unit is another option.

As it stands, O'Mahony has made just one change to the team that beat Galway in last month's Connacht final.

Ballinrobe's Donal Vaughan comes in for Liam O'Malley at right corner back, having shown well as a substitute last time out.

With Aidan Kilcoyne recovering well from a hamstring injury, the selected Mayo side is the same as the one which thrashed Roscommon by 3-18 to 0-7 in a one-sided Connacht semi-final.

Sunday's showdown will be the first Mayo v Meath Championship tie since the 1996 All-Ireland final which Meath won in a replay (2-9 to 1-11).

Having watched Meath account for Limerick in last weekend's final fourth round qualifier in Portlaoise, O'Mahony knows his men will face a tough challenge from the improving Royals.

"It was a strange game really, because you had Limerick playing a very defensive game where they all got behind the ball and ran at them; they weren't kicking the ball at all much," he told the Mayo News.

"In that sense they were creating the space up front but not putting the ball into the space when they created it.

"It will be a totally different game between Mayo and Meath than it was with Limerick and Meath.

"Meath have built up good momentum. They ran Dublin to two points but after Kerry's win over them on Monday, everything is looking different.

"Meath have a lot of quality players and they've a bit of experience there. (Anthony) Moyles and (Nigel) Crawford would have played in the 2001 All-Ireland final against a Galway side I managed, so they've a bit of experience and obviously they've a fair few youthful players."

MAYO (SFC v Meath) - K O'Malley; D Vaughan, G Cafferkey, K Higgins; P Gardiner, T Howley, A Moran; D Heaney, R McGarrity; P Harte, T Mortimer (capt), A Dillon; A Kilcoyne, B Moran, A O'Shea.