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Firstly I would to congratulate the Kildare footballers for putting the pride back in the jersey and for the first time a long time the future looks good and I have no doubt McGeeney is the man to lead us and he is starting to leave his mark on this Kildare team, specifically regarding committment, attitude  passion and tactical nous

I knew Kildare had talent and the Wicklow result was a shock but I knew Wicklow were a good side and if they were allowed qualify for the qualifiers tonight they would be probably be in the draw tonight. Even now Wicklow are dismissed even they only for a piece of wood they could have beaten Laois. Since the Wicklow game it has been complete negativity in Kildare and in the media (local and national) towards Kildare football and if we're honest a lot of it deserved but what amazes is me is that no one was focused on the bigger picture, new manager, tight league campaign 5 games decided by a point, All-Ireland u/21 final, a lot of injuries, the Moorefield contingent on the go for pratically 18 months. So I had always written of this season as a learing curve for both players and manager, a transition where not only would new players be introduced but a new style of play. So regardless of the next round result and the relegation Kildare are making progress and that is all we can ask for.

As for the game all week it was Limerick this, Limerick that, Limerick to hammer Kildare Limerick to progress and all they had to do was just show up. As I said previously Limerick were over-rated and Kildare under-rated but how much the swing was I didn't know and it was a John Doyle goal that was ultimately the difference. Ian Ryans open goal miss in the first half was one of the turning points of the game Limerick were well on top and that goal would have given them a seven point lead, a lead I don't think Kildare could have pegged back. Limerick should have been leading by more at half-time, they were very dominant and Galvin was controlling the middle and I was glad for the half-time whistle. The second half was a tremendous affair although the quality of football at times was poor the game was on a knife edge throughout. Kildare though had that little bit more composure in front of goal and Flynn, White and Conway were three excellent subsitutions that swung the game in Kildare's favour. Our full back line still looks shaky although I thought McLoughlin did well on Ian Ryan, Flynn will have to start the next day, McGeeney has shown he picks players on form and so no doubt he will.

Avoid Kerry and Mayo and we have a great chance of a quarter-final, unbelievable after the Wicklow game

Well done Dinny, you played well and were worthy winners.  Agreed with most of what you said there.  I don't think its a case that i underestimated Kildare, but i certainly did over-estimate Limerick.  Although had Ian stuck that goal away before half time it might have been a different story, a bad miss by his standards.  It was very disappointing from a Limerick point of view, but Kildare will take a lot of confidence from this game.  They knew exactly how to play Limerick and had us well figured out.

Credit to McGeeny, its easy to see that an Armagh man is coaching Kildare.  Limerick ran through you a bit too much in the first half, so whatever McGeeny said to his players at half time, they came out a different side in the second.  The second half was all about guts, sheer effort and application from Kildare, they swarmed midfield, and when Limerick tried to play through them, we simply lost possession, time after time.  All too often though we were the architects of our own demise, i lost count of the number of times we lost the ball in our own half, coughing up several soft scores.  Its this sort of naive play that kills us.  I couldn't believe we did not avert from the short game tactic, because we were totally swallowed up by a flurry of white shirts, every time Lavin or Ranahan or Donovan had the ball - Limerick's support play also left a lot to be desired.  Limerick should have hit direct long ball in to the full line, Kildare did plenty of this and Doyle prospered.  He's a slippery customer.  Also mightily impressed with Michael Conway, he was involved in several Kildare scores.  McLoughlin did a good job on Ian Ryan, although to be fair to the kid, he got little of no decent service in the second half, didn't score from play but hit some fine scores from placed balls.  Kildare are a fine team, however you could certainly do with another scoring forward - there was some bad wides last night.  Limerick will take a lot from this year - mostly that its important to take each game on its own merits,  I was fearful that they would crack under the pressure of the media blowing them up, and they duly did. 

I fully expect Kildare to beat Fermanagh.  And good luck to them.  They had wonderful support in the Gaelic Grounds last night.

And does result of a League match between the two in 2005 really have any bearing on Saturday's match?  I seriously doubt it...

[Well i'll post this here as well then!]

Might as well post this here

Limerick won 2 games in Division 3, the last time they met competitively Kildare won by 11 points. Limericks attack is very dependent on one player, Ryan scored 3-7 against Meath, 5 points against Cork and 3 against Tipp. In fact Limericks points tally 8, 12 and 12 in three championship games is not very convincing.

I don't believe Kildare are as bad as people seem to think we are, we have better footballers than Limerick, what they lack is confidence and belief that is the only thing that will cause them to lose to what I see as very average Limerick team.

Well i'll post this here as well then! 

I had the pleasure of being in Croke Park on May 18th, when i witnessed Wicklow out-battle and out-play a rather wasteful Kildare side.  However it must be noted that Wicklow are still the third worst team in Leinster, and Cavan who you scrope past last weekend are the second worst team in Ulster.  Can i ask when the last time was you attended a Limerick match?

Limerick are a better footballing team for a couple of reasons. Firstly Limerick play more of a mixed game, they use the hand passing game well and also like to kick direct into the inside line, where as Kildare continue to over-use their handpassing game, its one of the reasons why Kildare have fallen down the pecking order in Leinster.  Well, in my opinion anyway.  Secondly, although neither forward line is particularly incisive, i would think currently, that of Limerick's is better.  And since you're not convinced of Limerick's points tallies so far, lets compare it with that of Kildares: In the three games we have played so far, our forwards have racked up 4-29 (41 pts) - an average of 14 points per game.  In the two games you have played so far, your forwards have scored 1-23 (26 pts) - an average of 13 points per game.  If you're not impressed with ours, then you certainly can't be impressed with yours either, particularly when you compare the opposition we faced with the opposition you did.

John Doyle and Alan Smyth pose the greatest threat to Limerick on Saturday, but i'm confident that Johnny McCarthy can do a good marking job on Smyth, his performances over the last three years have been fantastic and particularly of late.  If Kildare decide to play John Doyle at centre forward then i'm also confident that Stephen Lavin could also limit his influence.  If he's in the corner, on Shane Gallagher, and does get the edge on him, i can see McCarthy being moved on him to quieten him.  At midfield I think its a pretty level playing field, Kilian Brennan is a great fielder and Dermot Earley is a wiry old campaigner who's much better deployed at midfield than half forward. John Galvin and Jim O'Donovan should at least be able break even here though.  The Limerick half forward line has got better with every game, Seanie Buckley is hugely under-rated, phoenominal work rate in the guy, dual player James Ryan is excellent at keeping the ball and playing it simple, and if Stephen Kelly is fit to start, i expect veteran Anthony Rainbow to be in for a torrid time of it - he's not got the legs to keep up with Kelly.  Watch this duel in particular, its one where i expect Limerick to get a lot of joy - if Kelly is fully fit. He destroyed Cork when he ran at them and had he not come off injured against Meath, it would have been a bigger score than 4-12 on the board. 

Most people seem to think that Limerick have one scoring forward in Ian Ryan, but that is simply not the case, Mike Crowley is more than capable of chipping in with points - 4 against Cork, 2 against Meath, as is Stephen Kelly - 2 against Tipp, 3 against Cork.  I expect Ian Ryan to be man marked, however the more men that he attracts, the more space Ger Collins and Mike Crowley will have. Limerick are simply much stronger up the middle than Kildare, we're strong at full back, centre back, midfield, centre forward and full. The same cannot be said of the Lilywhites.

Lastly, i am not for one minute underestimating Kildare, they will be a serious challenge, and i expect it to be a close game.  They are capable of beating Limerick but not in this form.

Fay a great full back, Geraghty would get on the All Time XV in my opinion. Or at the very least on the bench.  Good luck lads, thanks for the great entertainment you provided.  You deserved a better end than what Saturday night yielded.

I expect Limerick to beat Kildare this coming Saturday, that is if they manage to keep their heads down and ignore the hype.  They certainly are the better footballing side of the two teams.

How are they the better footballing side? When did you last see Kildare play? Limerick won 2 games in Division 3, the last time they met competitively Kildare won by 11 points. Limericks attack is very dependent on one player, Ryan scored 3-7 against Meath, 5 points against Cork and 3 against Tipp. In fact Limericks points tally 8, 12 and 12 in three championship games is not very convincing.

I don't believe Kildare are as bad as people seem to think we are, we have better footballers than Limerick, what they lack is confidence and belief that is the only thing that will cause them to lose to what I see as very average Limerick team.

I had the pleasure of being in Croke Park on May 18th, when i witnessed Wicklow out-battle and out-play a rather wasteful Kildare side.  However it must be noted that Wicklow are still the third worst team in Leinster, and Cavan who you scrope past last weekend are the second worst team in Ulster.  Can i ask when the last time was you attended a Limerick match?

Limerick are a better footballing team for a couple of reasons. Firstly Limerick play more of a mixed game, they use the hand passing game well and also like to kick direct into the inside line, where as Kildare continue to over-use their handpassing game, its one of the reasons why Kildare have fallen down the pecking order in Leinster.  Well, in my opinion anyway.  Secondly, although neither forward line is particularly incisive, i would think currently, that of Limerick's is better.  And since you're not convinced of Limerick's points tallies so far, lets compare it with that of Kildares: In the three games we have played so far, our forwards have racked up 4-29 (41 pts) - an average of 14 points per game.  In the two games you have played so far, your forwards have scored 1-23 (26 pts) - an average of 13 points per game.  If you're not impressed with ours, then you certainly can't be impressed with yours either, particularly when you compare the opposition we faced with the opposition you did.

John Doyle and Alan Smyth pose the greatest threat to Limerick on Saturday, but i'm confident that Johnny McCarthy can do a good marking job on him, his performances over the last three years have been fantastic and particularly of late.  If Kildare decide to play John Doyle at centre forward then i'm also confident that Stephen Lavin could also limit his influence.  If he's in the corner, on Shane Gallagher, on does get the edge on him, i can see McCarthy being moved on him to curb his influence.  At midfield I field its a pretty level playing field, Kilian Brennan is a great fielder and Dermot Earley is a wiry old campaigner who's much better deployed at midfield than half forward. John Galvin and Jim O'Donovan should at least be able break even here though.  The Limerick half forward line has got better with every game, Seanie Buckley is hugely under-rated, phoenominal work rate in the guy, dual player James Ryan is excellent at keeping the ball and playing it simple, and if Stephen Kelly is fit to start, i expect veteran Anthony Rainbow to be in for a torrid time of it - he's not got the legs to keep up with Kelly.  Watch this duel in particular, its one where i expect Limerick to get a lot of joy - if Kelly is fully fit. He destroyed Cork when he ran at them and had he not come off injured against Meath, it would have been a bigger score than 4-12 on the board. 

Most people seem to think that Limerick have one scoring forward in Ian Ryan, but that is simply not the case, Mike Crowley is more than capable of chipping in with points - 4 against Cork, 2 against Meath, as is Stephen Kelly - 2 against Tipp, 3 against Cork.  I expect Ian Ryan to be man marked, however the more men that he attracts, the more space Ger Collins and Mike Crowley will have. Limerick are simply much stronger up the middle than Kildare, we're strong at full back, centre back, midfield, centre forward and full. The same cannot be said of the Lilywhites.

Lastly, i am not for one minute underestimating Kildare, they will be a serious challenge, and i expect it to be a close game.  They are capable of beating Limerick but not in this form.

A lot of them thinking they would come down and beat Limerick easy by 6 or 7 points - something that has not happened to Limeick in over ten years in league or championship.

er, I seem to recall  Limerick 0-11 Armagh 4-10 in 2003, that's an 11 point margin. Perhaps you mean that Limerick have not been beaten in the Gaelic grounds by this margin.

Sorry yes, i forgot to add 'in the Gaelic Grounds'.  But even in that game you have mentioned, we had 60% of the ball but found it hard to break through that blanket Armagh defence, we won midfield, but 3 moments of magic from Stevie McDonnell won them the match.  I travelled to Roscommon again for that match, and got soaked for my troubles. 

Number Five as gaeilge - thats the number i wear when on the pitch.

If this happened to a member of my team, i would walk off the pitch and encourage others to follow me.  This kind of sh*t has no place in any sport.  Those bitches that spouted it, and those who encouraged them should be hit with a lifetime ban from attending all GAA games at any level.  The GAA must craic down hard on this sort of thing, a strong signal must be sent out to all those who would potentially abuse a player.

I think this result could do Meath a lot of good in the long term.  It should think there won't be the same amount of complacency when they play so called 'weaker' teams.  You could see it in the players body language on Saturday night, Limerick were up for it, whereas Meath's seemed to think it was some kind of challenge match.  It will bring a fresh face into the managers job, someone with new ideas, and i'm sure we will see a few recruits to the senior panel in the coming year.

As for Limerick, i was not very surprised we won, don't think Meath fans knew how good this Limerick team is. A lot of them thinking they would come down and beat Limerick easy by 6 or 7 points - something that has not happened to Limeick in over ten years in league or championship.  Limerick are very very hard to beat at the Gaelic Grounds, we knew that, but its obvious they didn't. I had them backed in an accumulator - odds of 4/1 on Limerick were a bit generous to say the least - afterall Limerick outplayed Cork at the same venue last month. 1/7 odds on a Meath win were even more of a joke.  I expect Limerick to beat Kildare this coming Saturday, that is if they manage to keep their heads down and ignore the hype.  They certainly are the better footballing side of the two teams.

[Monaghan]

Not really,I just fancied them against Meath..I think Kildare will beat them this time around..Could be after extra time though

What makes you think Kildare will beat Limerick at the Gaelic Grounds?

For what its worth my predictions are:

Monaghan to beat Donegal
Tyrone to beat Westmeath (AET)
Limerick to beat Kildare
Down to beat Laois