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The Mayo management team of Martin Brennan and Pete Finnerty have made four changes to their side from the one which lined up against Kerry last weekend in their opening National Hurling League game to the side who will face Armagh in Crossmaglen tomorrow. Into the side come Shane Morley after a recent hamstring problem, Kenny Robinson who scored a goal after coming on against Kerry gets the nod at number 15. Sean Markham will make his debut in the half back line while Brian Moran who fired over four points after he came on against Kerry will come into the half forward line. Keith Higgins who will also be on duty with the Mayo football team on Sunday drops to the bench for Saturday’s game.

A fortnight ago Mayo made their way across the country to open their account in the National Hurling League for the year only for it to be called off because of the weather; they must make that same long trip again this weekend. Tomorrow (Saturday, March 6) Martin Brennan and Pete Finnerty will be hoping that their side will be able to put their first points up on the board in the match against Armagh, after they failed to overthrow the Kingdom in McHale Park last Sunday.

While the footballers have been doing the business on the field picking up two wins from their opening games in the national league, it is now the hurlers’ time to go into competitive action this weekend. Martin Brennan and Pete Finnerty are back on board for this year following initial murmuring that they were not going to take charge of the side again following their exit from the Christy Ring Cup at the semi final stage last term.

Mayo 3-16

According to the AA route finder only 4.9 miles separate Tooreen and Ballyhaunis from each other. On Saturday afternoon Tooreen will make that short trip to face their neighbours in the county senior hurling final at 4pm. Tooreen were the standard bearers of Mayo hurling for a long time before the past decade which has seen Ballyhaunis steal their mantle as hurling kings of Mayo. The Ballyhaunis men will be appearing in their seventh final in succession and will be looking for their fifth title in six years, their four in a row bid was stopped last year by James Stephen’s Ballina, who themselves were dispatched from the competition by Tooreen last weekend in a semi-final replay.

A little over six months on since they tasted a defeat of the bitterest kind to swallow, the Mayo senior hurling side will be getting back into competitive action this weekend. With a place in the final in their grasp a late surge from Carlow saw Mayo lose their footing on their home patch, and with it a chance to make it to the final of the second tier competition. Seeing their chance to appear in the Christy Ring Cup final slip through their fingers in McHale Park against Carlow late last July will have left the Mayo squad eager to put things to right in 2009.

For the second in row Mayo started off the National League with a defeat at the hands of Derry, this time in James Stephen’s Park last Sunday. While both sides hit 10 scores the decisive score of the game came from Derry debutant James Kielt 45 minutes into the contest, who got on the end of move that came about as Tom Cunniffe lost possession trying to break out of defence.