McEntee sticks to his guns for Kildare test

Cautious approach required for Leinster SFC semi-final

TEAM NEWS

Meath manager Andy McEntee has adopted an 'if it ain't broken, don't fix it' approach to Sunday's Leinster SFC semi-final clash with Kildare as he has named the same starting 15 that opened the campaign with victory over Wicklow last weekend for the 1pm start against the Lilywhites.

The decision to stick with the players that performed so impressively when scoring 7-14 against Wicklow is unsurprisingly and the only twist to the 26-man panel sees Ratoath's Eamon Wallace take his place on the bench with Gavin mcCoy missing out on a place on the Croke Park sidelines.

Nobber's Jordan Morris, who scored 3-4 on his championship debut against Wicklow, will hope to maintain his bright start to life in the Green and Gold, while Mathew Costello and David Toner will both make their second starts.

Ratoath's Bryan McMahon and Conor McGill and Moynalvey's Cillian O'Sullivan will both make their 70th appearances for Meath, while Bryan Menton will captain the side for his 120th appearance for the county.

Kildare have made one change from the side that defeated Offaly by 0-20 to 0-16 after extra-time as Fergal Conway makes way for Matty Byrne of Sarsfields in the half-forward line.

Meath (SFC v Kildare) - Mark Brennan; Seamus Lavin, Conor McGill, David Toner; Donal Keogan, Shane McEntee, Mathew Costello; Bryan Menton, Ronan Jones; Cillian O'Sullivan, Bryan McMahon, Ronan Ryan; Jordan Morris, Shane Walsh, Thomas O'Reilly.

Kildare (SFC v Meath) - Mark Donnellan; Mark Dempsey, Shea Ryan, Darragh Malone; David Hyland, Con Kavanagh, Kevin Flynn; Kevin Feely, Aaron Masterson; Matty Byrne, Ben McCormack, Paddy Brophy; Daniel Flynn, Darragh Kirwan, Jimmy Hyland.

MATCH PREVIEW

Only one thing is certain ahead of tomorrow's Leinster SFC semi-final at Croke Park and that is that Meath will take nothing for granted against a Kildare side that has caused them plenty of heartache in the past.

The last time these two sides met in a provincial semi-final was in 2017 when Meath went into the game off the back of scoring 27 points in their victory over Louth while Kildare had beaten Laois comfortably too, posting a tally of 1-21.

Meath supporters will not forget that sweltering hot day in Tullamore too soon as the Royal County's vigourous warm-up in roaring high temperatures raised many eye brows before the side lost by nine points (0-13 to 2-16).

Meath are certainly a different kettle of fish since that disappointing day in O'Connor Park, but the more things change the more they tend to stay the same and Kildare will provide Meath with a stiff test of their improving credentials.

There is no doubt that operating out of NFL Div 1 has improved Meath, but a cautious approach will be vital.

However, Cork proved last weekend that there is nothing between Div 1 highflyers and a Div 3 side as they brushed aside one of the favourites for the All-Ireland crown, Kerry, in the Munster semi-final.

While that two-division gap didn't prove to be an issue for the Rebels, Meath will be well aware that they were far from highflyers in Div 1, while Kildare narrowly missed out on promotion from Div 2 so there is little to choose between the two sides. Meath will probably wear the favourites tag given the fact that although they lost six of their seven games in NFL Div 1 they were hugely competitive against high calibre teams like Mayo, Galway, Kerry, Monaghan and Dublin, whereas Kildare, who did finish the league well with wins over Cavan and Westmeath when play resumed, did lose to Clare, Armagh and Roscommon.

Just as Meath did in their 2019 championship opener, Kildare struggled to overcome a determined Offaly side last Sunday with only four points to spare at the end of a high scoring encounter, 0-20 to 0-16.

Meath only edged out Offaly by two points last year, but this is a very different Meath side.

Only eight of the team that started the first round last year started last Sunday's 28-point win against Wicklow.

From an attacking perspective Meath appear to have an abundance of riches.

Since lockdown Jordan Morris has been sensational. He chipped in with two points against Dublin when coming on to make his league debut.

He followed that with a seven-point haul, also as a substitute, in the draw against Monaghan.

Add in the 3-4 he scored on his championship debut last weekend and it is easy to see why people are starting to rave about the Nobber man.

However, Meath are not a one-man attack. They are capable of getting scores from all over the field with Bryan McMahon, Cillian O'Sullivan, Shane Walsh and Thomas O'Reilly all really threatening while Bryan Menton has a handy knack of getting on the board in most games.

Kildare will cause problems and they have their threats in Jimmy Hyland, Kevin Feely, Darragh Kirwan, Paddy Brophy and Neil Flynn, who came off the bench to score three points just a day after burying his father Fergal.

Meath have improved beyond recognition since 2017 and if they continue to show that progress then they can book their place in the Leinster SFC final again where they will hope to show more significant improvement.

LAST OUTING

LEINSTER SFC

Quarter-finals - Meath 7-14, Wicklow 0-7; Kildare 0-20, Offaly 0-16.

NFL FORMBOOK

DIVISION 1

First round - Tyrone 1-14, Meath 1-9.

Second round - Donegal 3-8, Meath 0-7.

Third round - Mayo 1-9, Meath 2-5.

Fourth round - Kerry 1-19, Meath 2-13.

Fifth round - Galway 1-14, Meath 1-12.

Sixth round -Dublin 1-20, Meath 0-19.

Seventh round - Monaghan, 2-14 Meath 1-17.

DIVISION 2

First round - Kildare 2-12, Fermanagh 0-14.

Second round - Clare 0-11, Kildare 0-10.

Third round - Armagh 0-16, Kildare 0-10.

Fourth round - Roscommon 2-11, Kildare 0-13.

Fifth round - Kildare 0-15, Laois 0-10.

Sixth round - Kildare 1-21, Cavan 0-20.

Seventh round - Kildare 0-16, Westmeath 0-11.

NEXT UP

Sunday 15th November - Meath v Kildare, Leinster SFC semi-final, 1pm.