Key men to step up for Royal contingent

With touching borders, a recent history and two of Gaelic football's "cutest hoors" on the sidelines, tomorrow's final promises a great deal. Indeed, the two teams have played some of the best football seen this championship in their respective marches to a showdown that is sure to recall memories of 12 months ago when Meath finally got the upper hand on their opponents after a three-match saga at the semi-final stage.

The stakes are higher this time round. Kildare have endured more heartache than you'd wish on your worst enemy in their futile attempts to land the provincial prize. Not since 1956 have they known what it's like to win in Leinster, and the weight of history is made heavier by the statistic that they haven't managed to beat Meath in a championship game since 1978.

Kildare's attempts to break such a hoodoo have been disrupted by the injury to Martin Lynch, but Meath have also been upset by injury problems and the absence of Paddy Reynolds and Jimmy McGuinness - who are replaced by Hank Traynor and Stephen Dillon respectively - probably evens up matters. Lynch is due to undergo a fitness test on his injured shoulder today, but a final decision on whether or not he lines out could be left until tomorrow.

An intriguing game is in prospect. You should never be surprised by Meath, but the way that Sean Boylan manages to produce new players seemingly from nowhere is a source of constant wonder. Who would have considered Nigel Nestor a centrefielder? Or Barry Callaghan a centre back? The two have been among football's success stories of 1998.

Meath's great strength is an ability to work together, it is almost as if it is in-built into their character. Kildare have had to work hard at this, but Mick O'Dwyer seems to have struck a better balance this year and their work-rate has unquestionably improved. Dermot Earley has truly arrived on the scene - he has a good pair of ball-winning hands and is an intelligent distributor once in possession - and Eddie McCormack's work-rate has an infectious effect on his colleagues.

If Kildare are to win, though, they will have to shackle Tommy Dowd, and also ensure that Brendan Reilly and Trevor Giles are adequately policed. The task of marking Dowd falls to Brian Lacey, one of the fastest defenders in the game. He barely gave Jason Sherlock a touch of the ball in the first round win over Dublin and was again quite superb against Laois. Shadowing Dowd, however, will be his biggest test to date.

The two sides appear evenly balanced at midfield: Kildare's Niall Buckley and Meath's Nestor are fast and skilful rather than physical players, while Willie McCreery and John McDermott should also cancel out each other. And the respective defences - with Kildare improving no end in this department - appear well prepared for tight marking and, from the half-back lines, setting up their forwards. It promises to be a close game and it could all come down to which forward or forwards decide to turn on the style. Meath have a slight edge here because someone, somewhere always takes on the responsibility of finishing the job at hand. One day Dowd, another day Giles, another occasion Reilly. One or other of them could ensure that Kildare's ache for a Leinster title is prolonged just a little bit more.

Kildare: C Byrne; B Lacey, R Quinn, S Dowling; J Finn, G Ryan, A Rainbow; N Buckley, W McCreery; E McCormack, D Kerrigan, D Earley; AN Other, K O'Dwyer, P Graven.

Meath: C Martin; M O'Reilly, D Fay, D Curtis; E McManus, B Callaghan, H Traynor; N Nestor, J McDermott; T Giles, G Geraghty, S Dillon; R Magee, B Reilly, T Dowd.