Shane McNaughton celebrates one of his goals in the Ulster final
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Antrim will be without key forwards Shane McNaughton and Karl Stewart for Saturday's vital Liam McCarthy Cup clash against Laois (1900 BST). McNaughton and Stewart organised a holiday together in Portugal some time ago and the county have been unable to arrange flights home for the pair. "We tried to get different flights for them but it just didn't work out," said joint-manager Dominic McKinley. "Both are them and Paul Shields are ruled out and it's very disappointing." McNaughton hit 2-3 in last weekend's narrow Ulster final win over Down while Stewart was named Ulster hurler of the year last season and has maintained good form in 2009. The Saffrons' other joint-manager Sambo McNaughton, who is the father of Shane, is also currently on a break in Portugal but he has managed to arrange a flight home on Thursday. McKinley acknowledged that the loss of the two holidaying players is a case of "bad planning". "We just didn't look at the schedule early on and they were very disappointed boys when they were leaving. "Shane has come back into form with a great Ulster final and Karl was Ulster hurler of the year last year and has been playing very, very well this year. They are very, very bad losses." McKinley agrees that Saturday's clash is a more important game than last weekend's provincial decider. If the Saffrons lose in Portlaoise, they will be staring relegation to the Christy Ring Cup in the face, with the possibility that they could be replaced in the top-tier by Down. The Mourne County face Carlow in the Christy Ring decider on 11 July with the winners earning a place in next year's Liam McCarthy Cup. "I kept the players back on Sunday and told them what the Laois match meant to the county," added McKinley. "It's something that we are very nervous about. But we need to calm ourselves and go in with a clear head." Laois hurling boss Niall Rigney has made two changes from the side that suffered a crushing Leinster SHC defeat to Galway for Saturday's game. Colin Delaney replaces the suspended James Young at midfield, while Eamon Jackman replaces Dane Peacock at right half-forward.
Laois: T Doran; JA Delaney, D Maher, B Stapleton; M Whelan, B Campion, M McEvoy; C Delaney, J Walsh; E Jackman, O Holohan, W Hyland; E Costelloe, J Rowney, J Purcell
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