O'Mahony alters Mayo lineup

In selecting his team to face Sligo in Saturday's Connacht SFC first round clash, Mayo manager John O'Mahony has made five changes to the side that disappointed against Cork in the NFL Division 1 final.

O'Mahony's biggest call is at full-forward where teenager Aidan O'Shea has lost out to 21-year-old Alan Freeman from Aghamore who will be making his first start at this level.

Freeman is one of four Championship debutants included in the starting line-up - Chris Barrett (Belmullet), Seamus O'Shea (Breaffy) and Enda Varley (Garrymore) being the others.

There are two changes in defence as dual star Keith Higgins makes his return from a knee injury at left corner back and Trevor Howley's hamstring injury opens the door for Tom Cunniffe to take on the centre back role.

Ronan McGarrity is an indirect replacement for the injured Alan Dillon (hamstring), slotting in at midfield alongside Tom Parsons, and Seamus O'Shea has been moved to centre-forward in the process.

Championship newcomer Varley, who top-scored for Mayo during the league, joins Freeman and the enigmatic Conor Mortimer in a spritely full-forward line.

Along with Howley and Dillon, Mayo's injury list also includes Aidan Kilcoyne, Barry Moran and Pat Harte - although Kilcoyne could play some part off the bench.

Mayo are the reigning Connacht champions and have beaten Sligo in the counties' last three Championship meetings - 2001, 2003 and 2008 - with Sligo's last success back in 2000 (1-13 to 1-10).

Speaking to the Mayo News ahead of the Markievicz Park tie (throw-in 5pm), Mayo boss O'Mahony said: "Preparation wise, everything has gone fine but everyone just wants to get on with it now.

"The first round is always difficult. League and challenge games are one thing but this is something entirely different.

"It's a special time. There's a real power surge - a sense of expectation - around the start of the Championship.

"The fact that the game is on Saturday evening means that we've had to plan certain things in terms of logistics but that's all part and parcel of it."

The winners of Saturday's game will face Galway in a June 27 semi-final.

MAYO (SFC v Sligo): D Clarke; C Barrett, G Cafferkey, K Higgins; D Vaughan, T Cunniffe, K McLoughlin; T Parsons, R McGarrity; A Moran, S O'Shea, T Mortimer (capt); C Mortimer, A Freeman, E Varley.