O'Connor takes wing again

There are no changes of personnel in the Clare team to meet Kilkenny in the second All-Ireland hurling semi-final at Croke Park this Sunday.

Manager Ger Loughnane and his fellow selectors have kept faith with the side which defeated Galway in the quarter-final replay less than two weeks ago, but have opted for one switch in the attack. Jamesie O'Connor is named at right half forward despite starting in the left corner in the second game against Galway. Alan Markham moves in the opposite direction and is now named at left corner forward. Niall Gilligan will take up the role in the middle of the full-forward line in which he was so effective last time out, scoring two goals and three points. PJ O'Connell, who is named at left half-forward, was replaced by David Forde early in the second half of the replay, but Forde cannot find a place in the named team. Kilkenny, meanwhile, have postponed announcing their team due to their injury worries. Manager Brian Cody and his selectors were due to meet yesterday evening to finalise their team but instead deferred making any decisions until after their last training session this evening.

"We're still waiting for news on a couple of injury worries," said Cody yesterday. "We wanted to wait the extra day and give everyone the chance to prove their fitness."

It appears most unlikely that Eamonn Kennedy will be able to start at centre back. He injured his ankle in training last weekend and has been unable to practice with the team since.

There are also doubts about whether Tom Hickey can line out at right corner back after he picked up a similar ankle injury in the Leinster final victory over Offaly last month and missed almost four weeks of training as a result. He did, however, complete the team training on Monday evening and is more likely to be given the all clear.

Either way, there are numerous options which Cody can choose from. The highly experienced Pat O'Neill substituted for Kennedy in a recent practice match and is the strongest contender for a place, but there has also been a return to form of both Philip Larkin and Peter Barry.

Larkin was dropped after the National League semi-final defeat by Galway back in May and was also troubled by an elbow injury prior to Kilkenny's championship opener with Laois, but he may well be in line for a recall. Barry was a regular at midfield last season.