Chris Kelly makes first Championship start for Cork in two years

FIRST START: Cork goalkeeper Chris Kelly has been named to make his first championship start in two years and only his second championship appearance in total in this Sunday’s Munster SFC quarter-final at home to Limerick. Pic: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Cork goalkeeper Chris Kelly has been named to make his first championship start in two years and only his second championship appearance in total in this Sunday’s Munster SFC quarter-final at home to Limerick.

Kelly’s one previous start was the 2022 first-round qualifier win against Louth, at a time when regular first-choice 'keeper Micheál Aodh Martin was still nursing a groin injury that had forced him out of the county’s Munster semi-final defeat to Kerry four weeks earlier.

A cautionary note against Kelly’s starting this Sunday is that he was also named to start the county’s final league outing against Armagh a fortnight ago, but it was Martin who played the full 70 minutes between the sticks at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

A groin injury carried through from 2023 meant that Round 7 League outing was Martin’s first involvement of 2024.

Patrick Doyle was between the sticks for the county’s opening two games, with Kelly then handed the No.1 shirt for Rounds 3-6.

The Cork football team named for Sunday’s championship opener shows two changes from the side that drew with Armagh a fortnight ago. There is the aforementioned goalkeeping switch and Kevin Flahive replacing Maurice Shanley at right corner-back.

Among the subs, David Buckley and Darragh Cashman will make their championship debuts if introduced.

Cork (Munster SFC v Limerick): C Kelly; K Flahive, D O’Mahony, T Walsh; L Fahy, S Meehan, M Taylor; I Maguire, C O’Callaghan; P Walsh, S Powter, B O’Driscoll; C Óg Jones, C Corbett, B Hurley.

Subs: MA Martin, M Shanley, D Cashman, T Clancy, K O’Donovan, D Buckley, E McSweeney, J O’Rourke, R Deane, M Cronin, S Sherlock.

WATERFORD (Munster SFC v Tipperary): P Hunt; R Browne, C Walsh, C McCarthy; B O'Keefe, D Ryan, R McGrath; M Curry, J Curry; C MacCraith, D Fitzgerald, W Beresford; S Curry, T O'Connell, J Power

Subs: A Beresford, A Dunwoody, S Whelan-Barrett, C Ó Cuirrín, B Hynes,  M Mullaney, J Walsh, J Sheehan, M O'Brien, J Booth, C Maguire

GALWAY (Connacht SFC v London): C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, J Glynn; D McHugh, J Daly, L Silke; P Conroy, S Kelly (c); J Heaney, C Sweeney, C Darcy; R Finnerty, C Ó Curraoin, L Ó Conghaile

Subs: C Flaherty, K Molloy, S Mulkerrin, D O'Flaherty, E Kelly, C Brady, N Daly, P Egan, N McCabe, R Cunningham, T Culhane

CLARE (Munster U20 HC v Limerick): M Sheedy; J Cahill, T Leyden, R Keane; S Woods, J Hegarty, J Moylan; R O'Connor, E Gunning; C Whelan, S Rynne, R Kilroy; N O'Farrell, J O'Neill, M Collins

Subs: A Enright, E Maxted, J Organ, L Crotty, O O'Connor, E McMahon, P O'Sé, I Williams, D Moroney 

GALWAY (Leinster U20 HC v Offaly): D Walsh; C Lawless, D Dunne, S Murphy; J Ryan, R Burke, C Whelan; T Leen (c), M Tarpey; O Lohan, D Shaughnessy, M Power; D Davoren, M Burke, A Niland

Subs: D Fahy, J O'Connor, B O'Donovan, D Counihan, J Rabbitte, P MacCárthaigh, D Neary, C Killeen, C Dolphin, N Gill, D Donohue

KILKENNY (Allianz HL final v Clare): E Murphy; S Murphy, H Lawlor, T Walsh; D Blanchfield, P Deegan (C), R Reid; C Kenny, J Molloy; A Mullen, J Donnelly, B Ryan; L Hogan, TJ Reid, E Cody

Subs: A Tallis, C Delaney, P Moylan, D Corcoran, C Fogarty, K Blanchfield, T Clifford, B Drennan, O Wall, M Keoghan, L Blanchfield