Byrne and Hegarty drafted into Westmeath ladies team for relay

IRISH underage soccer star Jennifer Byrne has been drafted into the Westmeath ladies football team to face Cavan in this Sunday's TG4 All-Ireland intermediate championship final replay at Croke Park (throw-in: 4.15pm). Byrne has represented Ireland at U17 level in the European Championships and in the World Cup. The Ballinahown native plays soccer for Bealnamulla and Gaelic football for Garrycastle, and she has enjoyed considerable success with both clubs. The inclusion of Byrne at right corner-forward is one of two changes in personnel to the Westmeath starting fifteen, with Karen Hegarty also named in the full-forward line. Hegarty made a major impact when introduced from the bench in the drawn game, scoring Westmeath's second goal with a soccer-style finish. The players to lose out are wing-back Kelly Boyce Jordan and full-forward Katie Somers, both of whom play their club football with Milltown. There are also a number of positional switches as Westmeath co-managers Alan Mangan and Peter Leahy shake things up in an effort to clinch the Mary Quinn Cup. Garrycastle''s Laura Brennan has been moved from wing-forward to wing-back as a replacement for Jordan. Brennan is joined in the half-back line by Milltown's Jennifer Rogers and Moate's Michelle Malone. Kilbeggan's Fiona Claffey was selected at midfield for last Sunday week's drawn clash and she operated in a sweeper role for much for the game. For the relay, however, she has been selected at left corner-forward, although whether she plays there remains to be seen. Westmeath captain Elaine Finn has been moved from wing-forward to midfield - while Glasson native Laura Walsh and Johanna Maher of Tyrrellspass have been moved from the full-forward line to the half-forward line. Kilbeggan's Triona Durkan has postponed her plans to travel to Australia as she hopes to win Westmeath to a first-ever All-Ireland ladies title. There is one change to the Cavan team with Ciara Gray coming in at corner-back for Claire Kearns. Gray has been selected for the drawn game but Kearns was drafted in as a late replacement. Cavan will again be looking to Aisling Doonan for inspiration - the Templeport ace scored six points in the drawn game and was awarded the player of the match. WESTMEATH: G Leahy, A Martin, G Kearney, T Durkan, L Brennan, J Rogers, M Malone, MA Foley, E Finn, (C), L Walsh, R Kearney, J Maher, J Byrne, K Hegarty, F Claffey CAVAN: C McCutcheon, C O'Reilly, G McGlade, C Gray, R Murphy, P Crowe, D English, R Crowe, A Cornyn, R O'Keeffe, B Sheridan, E Costin, B Boylan, C O'Reilly, A Doonan (C).