Kildare must locate shooting boots

All-Ireland SFC Quarter-Final

Both sides have had their defensive abilities questioned in recent days and weeks and yet a closer inspection of the figures would suggest that the defenders’ unions in both counties are being hard done by.

One former leading light of the defensive brigade thinks that both defences are shaping up well. Former Kildare full-back and Lilywhite legend Davy Dalton will have a foot in both camps on Sunday as his son, Davy junior, is a sub on the Meath panel.

“The Kildare full-back line seems to have improved since the Louth game. They seem to be protecting the full-back line further out the field. The Meath backs aren’t too bad, they haven’t done a whole lot wrong,” said Dalton, who was manager of the Meath minor football team this year.

His eldest son, David (22), has been recovering from a hamstring injury of late so he will be among the subs.

Kildare have recovered brilliantly in that department since conceding 1-22 to Louth in the Leinster quarter-final while Meath have only conceded more than 13 points once all summer, against Laois.

The Royals’ biggest concern is their midfield duo of Nigel Crawford and Brian Meade which has come out second best in their last two games so expect Dermot Earley and Daryl Flynn to gain a slight advantage there.

Dalton suspects that a good Kildare performance will stem from a good Earley display.

“Kildare rely on Dermot (Earley) a lot. If he’s going well, Kildare do well. Midfield is a big thing. If Dermot’s going well, Kildare will get on top. It was tit for tat in the league game (Meath beat Kildare in the final round of Division 2, 1-15 to 0-13). Whoever takes the game by the scruff of the neck early on I think will win it.”

The greatest intrigue lies in the respective forward lines. For all the plaudits thrown their way, the Meath sextet scored just 1-10 against Louth in the provincial final after a once-in-a-lifetime five-goal hit on Dublin in the semi.

Kildare don’t have the same spread of potential scorers. James Kavanagh has begun to take some of the weight off John Doyle’s shoulders of late but the Lilywhites are guilty of huge wide tallies.

Kildare’s scoring rate will have to change tomorrow if they are to reach a first All-Ireland semi-final in a decade – against Monaghan they shot nine wides in the first half. If it does, they have the momentum to take them past a Meath side playing for the first time since ‘that’ Leinster final.

It remains to be seen how the fallout affects Eamonn O’Brien’s men. Dalton empathises with the Royals.

“If I was in that situation, I would have done the exact same thing. There are bad decisions in all games. Meath didn’t do anything wrong.”

Normally an easygoing bunch, they have battened down the hatches in recent weeks as they come to terms with their new status as the country’s bogey men.

Dalton feels the game has to be a 50-50 affair though unlike everyone else, he will “have a team to shout for in the semi-final”. We think Kildare will the team he’s shouting for after Sunday. Just.

- Verdict: Kildare