Meath get ready to face Faithful

Meath hurlers will kick-start their new competitive season when they take on Offaly in the Walsh Cup at Trim on Sunday, 2pm.

James Toher is included in the starting 15 by manager Martin Ennis and his selectors despite having been affected by flu that kept him out of the recent challenge against London side Robert Emmetts at Dunganny which Meath won by a point. 

However the highly talented Trim player who captained Meath to a Ring Cup success last June is a crucial part of Ennis's team. 

The team includes a number of changes from the side that started the Ring Cup final replay which Meath won with a 4-21 to 5-17 victory over Antrim. 

Among the changes is a new midfield combination of Anthony Forde and Padraig Kelly. They replace Sean Heavey and Stephen Morris who started against Antrim. 

David Donoghue, Shane Brennan Gavin McGowan and Adam Gannon, who also played big roles in the Ring Cup triumph and who started the replay, are others who are conspicious by their absence from Sunday's selection. 

Others such as Gary Kelly, Mark O'Sullivan and Cormac Reilly get a chance in Sunday's clash to show what they can do against a team that is sure to present a very formidable challenge. 

In the rest of their Walsh Cup campaign Meath are due to take on Kildare in Navan on Sunday 15th January and IT Carlow at Dunganny on Sunday 22nd January. 

Meath played Offaly in the Leinster SHC in the mid 1990s with the Faithful County, then one of the strongest teams in the country, proving victorious. Now Ennis and his troops will be aiming to avenge that setback.

Meath team to play Offaly is: Shane McGann (Kiltale); Sean Geraghty (Kilskyre/Moylagh), Ronan Sherlock (Silvermines), Cormac Reilly (Navan O'Mahonys); Keith Keoghan (Killyon), Damien Healy (Longwood), Shane Whitty (Blackhall Gaels); Anthony Forde (Kiltale), Padraig Kelly (Kiltale); James Toher (Trim), Gary Kelly (Kildalkey), Joey Keena (Kilmessan); Mark O'Sullivan (Kiltale), Neil Heffernan (Trim), Sean Quigley (Dunboyne).