AISF 2010: An Dún vs Cill Dara

[ross4life]

Well Kildare/Down fans how are the nerves holding up? only 70 minutes away from the final, for me this game is to close to call has the potential to be one of the games of the year

May the best team win! hopefully i'm proven wrong & the winner of this game wins the All Ireland

[western exile]

Prediction time 
Kildare 1-12
Down 2-13
Game to be a classic that will be talked about for time to come

[Dinny Breen]

Kildare 1-14
Down 2-09

[Redhand Santa]

Down 3-10 Kildare 0-15

[AZOffaly]

Best of luck to the Lilywhites tomorrow. Eliminate the slow start, and I don't think Down will be able to get the momentum they will need. I believe Kildare are a better team and should show that tomorrow.

Delighted to see Down back in a semi, but I think this is a bridge too far. Laighean Abú.

[dodgy umpire]

Kildare 0-16 Down 2-13 (one of Down's goals coming from a penalty)

[Hardy]

Kildare 1-16
Down 1-10

[bennydorano]

Minimum 4 point win for Kildare.

[goldenyears]

Rumour has it that Benny will start midfield with Rony Murtagh in the corner

[Donnellys Hollow]

The nerves are beginning to build now!

I'd be a lot more confident if Dermot was fully fit. I don't buy into the theory that Rogers is more important to Down than Dermot is to Kildare. People will point to Kildare doing grand without him against Meath but I still wouldn't be 100% convinced about Hughie Lynch, despite his good display in that match. Most Kildare folk would have had him well down the pecking order before the last day. Everyone thought either Roli Sweeney or one of the White's would have come on once Dermot went down injured. Lynch was thrown in at the deep end straight away and he did very well but if he starts this match he'll have had a month to be thinking about it. I hope he dispels my doubts and has another stormer if he starts.

Down pose a different challenge to Meath in that they have pace all over the field. I was confident that Kildare would beat Meath because I felt the Meath forwards would struggle to stay with our backs breaking out of defence and that proved to be the case in the second half. Down will funnel their half-forwards back and the likes of Bolton, Flaherty, Kelly and McGrillen will find it harder to drive forward and create overlaps. Down are probably the paciest team Kildare have played since Louth and this is also a concern. The Kildare half-backs are vulnerable when they're ran at and McCartan will have noted this.

Thinking back on the NFL match in February, Down cleaned Kildare out on the breaks. I think this is why Flanagan has got the nod ahead of Mick Foley and we'll need big games from the likes of Morgan Flaherty, Leper Callaghan and Paudie O'Neill around the middle winning dirty ball. If Kildare can get parity around the middle I think the Down backs can be got at. I was at their quarter final against Kerry and they did look vulnerable enough whenever Kerry got the ball inside. The problem for Kerry was they just couldn't get consistent supply into Cooper. Dan Gordon is an excellent footballer but is he a full-back? Kerry played into Down's hands when they moved Donaghy out the field because Gordon was at home around the middle. My fear tomorrow is that Gordon will follow Callaghan out the field when he starts to roam. Kildare need to try and isolate Gordon inside against Smith and Kavanagh and test out his defensive instincts.

I'm less and less confident about this match with every passing hour. Kildare can't afford another slow start because Down won't be as fragile when Kildare do have a period of dominance. This game could be decided by who has the greater impact off the bench. Ó Cinnéide made a good point in the Examiner today when he said that Kildare might not have as much of a scoring impact off the bench now that Eoghan O'Flaherty is starting. Sweeney is more of a ball winner than a scorer and it would be a big ask of Fionn Dowling to throw him in during the second half tomorrow if Kildare need scores. Hopefully Rob Kelly might be the man to step up if Kildare are in trouble. A lot of pundits are thinking that Down may have played their All-Ireland Final against Kerry and I'd be hoping the same. This game will pose a different challenge for them because they came in under the radar that day and had little pressure on them. They're not in the long grass anymore and their supporters will expect to beat Kildare having already beaten Kerry. How they handle that pressure will go a long way towards determining who will be looking forward to the third Sunday in September at five o'clock tomorrow.

Kildare by two points but I'm more hopeful than confident. Cill Dara Abú!

[western exile]

Excellent post DH. So close to the truth it is scary   

My father-in-law just took me to the pub for a couple of hours on this  Saturday afternoon to settle those nerves! And fair play to him, he has erected An Dun flag in this corner of rural south east Mayo!
Like you, believe it or not, I was more confident of  winning our quarter final than this game.

Much has been made on personal battles, Rafferty v Doyle, Gordan v Smith, Garvey v Kavanagh, Clarke v McGrillan, Coulter v Kelly/MacLochain. But not much, though you touched on it, on the breaking ball battle. Kildare win most of this with their half-backs, and Down with their half-forwards! That is going to be a fascinating part of the pairc to watch!

But at this stage of the championship it is more about what is in the minds. Before the quarters most Kildare players were talking about how important it would mean to make it to a AI semi. I think/hope  Down players are are more determined to make a final.

I will be travelling up to the match from the West. Please let me through Kildare safely 

[Dinny Breen]

Lynch was thrown in at the deep end straight away and he did very well but if he starts this match he'll have had a month to be thinking about it. I hope he dispels my doubts and has another stormer if he starts.

In fairness DH, Lynch knew all week of the Meath gamer that he was on standby for Dermot, McGeeney covers every eventuality and plans accordingly.

I do share your concerns over him though but you can't under estimate the confidence that performance will give him and hopefully if called upon he will replicate that performance.

Still think the left side of our defence is our weak-link and Down are more than capable of exploiting that...

Game can't come soon enough...

[Dubh driocht]

Good posts from the Kildare men and Western Exile.
It's a close one and a draw looks an attractive bet. However, I'm with WE on the mindsets ; earlier in this threat we discussed how many from each team had won All-Irelands at college, university or county level . The majority of the Down team have while only a small number of Kildare men had. That will be the difference.

[robbiegael]

Excellent post by DH - well balanced and articulate.

It's a tough one to call because of Kildare's team-work/fitness and chances they create - although they miss too many for my liking - Down are more effecient and miss less but again it boils down to who gets the best possession. Kildare are able to squeeze the life out of teams by shear work-rate but that is hard to do for 70 minutes in Croke Park.

I think Down have the most natural forwards of the 3 teams left - serious pace and ability if Down can get the ball to them. The key for Down is when they win possession to get quality quick ball into their forwards.

May the best team win!

[Aaron Boone]

Are the teams staying in hotels tonight or just meeting up in the morning for the trip (after mass of course)?