This match is an opportunity for Brendan Lowry and West Meath to distance themselves from the ugly half-time fracas during their league encounter with Wicklow. The fact that four of their players are also involved with the under-21 side who are scheduled to meet Kerry in the final this day week doesn't help matters, but they ought to have enough for Carlow, who are introducing six newcomers to championship fare.

Team Selections

Carlow: J Brennan; B Farrell, A Corden, P O'Dwyer; J Murphy, K Walker, J Kavanagh; G Ware, J Morrissey; N Doyle, S Kavanagh, W Quinlan; M Dowling, J Nevin, P Kavanagh.

West Meath: A Lennon; D Brady, R Casey, F Murray; A Canning, D Mitchell, K Ryan; R O'Connell, D O'Shaughnessy; D Healy, P Conway, S Colleary; G Heavin, M Flanagan, D Dolan.

Team News

Carlow, after an impressive league season, are approaching this match in an adventurous spirit, trying out six championship rookies. Goalkeeper John Brennan gets the call, along with Paul O'Dwyer at left corner back, Ken Walker at centre half back, Johny Kavanagh at left half back, and Mark Dowling and Pat Kavanagh in the corner forward positions. Colm Hayden once again finds himself dogged with injury, while the team may also be severely hampered by the loss of top scorer Mick Nolan.

West Meath's Brendan Lowry has publicly decried the decision to stage the All-Ireland under-21 final just six days after this tie.

Key Confrontation

Much will rest on the shoulders of Carlow mid-fielder Garvan Ware, a long-time servant. In David O'Shaughnessy, Ware faces a rising star, a tireless, leaping athlete who runs the field all afternoon and delivers consistently telling ball. It will be interesting to see if O'Shaughnessy's ongoing emergence will be disrupted any over the course of the match.

View From The Camps

"I honestly believe that we are as good as any team in Leinster on our day. The problem is that we have to prove this. For the players it is a question of dealing with the pressure of the day and still producing good football. The sign of a good team is the ability to function in a pressure-cooker atmosphere."

- Brendan Lowry (West Meath manager)

"We had a good run in the league and beat Fermanagh by seven points, but they ended up gaining promotion and we lost to Sligo and Wexford."

- Cyril Hughes (Carlow manager)

Verdict: West Meath