Meath should beat Kildare by three or four points with Graham Reilly leading the way
Andy McEntee's decision to make Reilly the Meath captain has worked wonders for him and the side
ANDY McENTEE’S decision in January to make Graham Reilly Meath captain for 2017 generated quite a bit of debate around the county.
There is no questioning his ability but at times there were some who wondered about Reilly’s consistency — brilliant one day but not so hot the next.
By making him captain, McEntee has handed him huge responsibility and Reilly has responded in kind.
Today, he has the chance to be a real captain fantastic because this is a big game for both Meath and Kildare.
And if the Royals are to win, they will need Reilly to lead the way.
He has been in great form and is showing real leadership in taking on the onus of creating and converting scoring chances.
Reilly hit seven points from play against Louth in Parnell Park the last day — that is the kind of return he is capable of when he’s on his game.
From the moment he was named captain he has shown nothing but total commitment — even playing during the O’Byrne Cup despite his club, St Colmcilles, being involved in the All-Ireland club IFC.
This evening is the biggest test this year so far for ‘Biggy’ and his county.
A win for Meath would be real progress and instil huge confidence within the dressing room that what McEntee is doing is working. Players thrive off winning.
But likewise, Kildare are in a similar position — Cian O’Neill knows a victory in Tullamore would be a massive step forward for his Lilywhites side.
There might be no silverware up for grabs but there is a lot on the line for both managers.
Westmeath have contested the last two Leinster finals against Dublin.
Meath and Kildare are both better teams.
It will be good to see one of them get back to the provincial final where neither would fear Jim Gavin’s men.
In fact, there is a sense that both camps would really love a crack at the Dubs.
The Sky Blues have been the standard bearers in Leinster for longer than anybody cares to remember.
They have been way ahead of the rest and probably still are.
But with the amount of injuries they have, the disciplinary saga with Diarmuid Connolly and the fact their levels of hunger for a Leinster title cannot be as great as those of Meath and
Kildare, they might not quite have the same level of dominance they had in recent years.
For the Royals to win today, there is a general consensus that they’ll have to shore up their defence.
They conceded three goals against Louth. But one of those was a complete freak — with Paddy O’Rourke tree-hugging the post.
He just lost his bearings, it was a crazy goal.
The Wee County scored 3-9. That’s only 12 scores. I don’t think Meath should be pushing the panic buttons — their defence is not as bad as it looks when you see a team concede three goals.
McEntee will make sure they have a solid system in place for today and actually the area that Meath really need to improve on is converting their goal chances at the other end of the field.
They scored 27 points the last day, which is a massive haul.
But they created around four good goalscoring chances and converted none. At this level, you tend not to get too many goal opportunities so when you create one, you have to take it.
The top teams do — and that’s the difference between a run-of-the-mill side and one that lifts silverware.
Meath have better forwards than Kildare. Even if the Lilywhites man-mark Reilly, which they surely will, the Royals have others in their ranks, such as Cillian O’Sullivan, who is a very good player.
Meath’s forwards might not be that physically imposing but they are nippy, have pace and can get out in front of the defender to win their own ball.
Kildare have been impressive this year and achieved what Meath did not — promotion from Division 2.
They put up 1-21 against Laois the last day, which suggests they are certainly no slouches up front either.
Down through the years, going back to when I was playing even, Meath-Kildare games have always been very tight. The rivalry mightn’t be as prominent as Meath against Dublin, Louth or Westmeath but if you live along the border with Kildare it’s a big deal.
But today’s game is not really about that rivalry.
It is about the re-emergence of two counties or at least the hope among both that they are on the road to ‘being back’.
There is a bigger picture at play, because for the winner the summer opens up. For the loser, it raises a few questions and they enter what looks a difficult side of the qualifier draw.
Your entire season could change drastically in the space of a few days. Neither team probably has to beat Dublin this year to prove they have made progress.
But they do have to see off ths ide in front of them this evening.
Ultimately, it will come down to who has the better forwards because it’s unlikely to be a game dominated by blanket defences.
Meath have the edge in the scoring stakes and for that reason they should edge over Kildare by three or four points, with captain Reilly leading the way.