Final ticket on offer

PAT Coyle is urging Meath supporters to turn up in big numbers at Pairc Tailteann on Saturday afternoon when the county minors, the reigning provincial champions, are due to take on Kildare in the Leinster MFC semi-final. The Meath manager wants as many encouraging voices as possible to get behind his boys as they continue their search for another provincial title. Coyle recognises that while they have already recorded significant wins over Offaly and Westmeath, a potentially bigger obstacle lies ahead in the shape of Kildare, who have made it this far following huge wins over Wicklow (4-21 to 1-8) and Wexford (3-15 to 2-4). Kildare haven"t had much to cheer about in the minor grade in the past few years however, sources in the county suggest that this time around they are very hopeful of achieving something tangible. The team is powered by Paul Cribben who can play at midfield or in the forwards, his potential has alerted the interest of those who wish to recruit some of the best young talent in Ireland for Australian football. Cribben was on the St Mary"s, Edenderry team that agonisingly lost out to a last-gasp goal to Kerry"s Colaiste na Sceilge in the All-Ireland SFC Colleges" final last April. He was a major figure in the campaign that brought Edenderry within seconds of a famous victory only for Colaiste na Sceilge to snatch it in one of the most dramatic finishes EVER, to an All-Ireland Colleges" final. The current Kildare minor side is backboned by a contingent of players who turned out for Edenderry and it is certain that no matter what way the game is going for them on Saturday they are sure to continue battling to the end. The Kildare side is said to contain a swashbuckling set of forwards well capable of punishing all but the most alert defences. Darrock Mulhall, Padraig Fogarty, who banged in a few goals against Wicklow, and Cian Reynolds are other forwards who have made an impact in the championship so far. Even from midfield Kildare appear to carry a considerable punch with Thomas Moolick notching up 1-3 against Wexford. The scoring feat was all part of a five-star display. One observer of that Kildare, Wexford game was impressed with the way the Lilywhites kept running and battling right to the end even when it was obvious that they had won in style. Wexford made the final scoreline look better for themselves with two goals in the final quarter. Meath approach Saturday"s encounter on the back of a sparkling nine-point (0-18 to 0-9) win over Westmeath towards the end of May. They could have done without the break for exams considering they were clearly on a roll at the time. They got back into action with a defeat by Galway in a challenge game last week. Over the last few days the management team have been working on getting the players focused and ready for another big test. Coyle is content that they are ready for the fray. 'The players are in good form, they"re all clued in now and just biting at the bit to get the game started,' he told the Meath Chronicle. 'It"s all systems go from our point of view and I"d be urging the supporters to come out and give us a good shout because Kildare supporters will probably travel in force. 'They could travel to Navan before going on to Tullamore for their senior game,' he said. Encouragingly for Coyle he has detected signs of improvement in every game so far. The 'massive boost' of a victory over Offaly was added to with the big win over Westmeath with eight of the Meath players sharing the workload when it came to bagging scores. The spread of scores suggests that the Meath attack will provide plenty for the Kildare defence to think about; a defence that has yet to be tested in any meaningful way. Against Offaly 10 Meath players contributed to the 0-18 to 1-11 victory. The top scorer against the Faithful County was Harrison Silke and while he has been affected by injury recently he should, according to Coyle, be fully fit for Saturday"s game. Kevin Mallon should also be available after recovering from a knock. Meath have plenty of pace in attack in players such as Liam Tolan and Sean Tobin and Mark O"Sullivan is a forward who carries a real threat when given a decent supply of ball. A lot will depend with how the Meath defence copes with this much vaunted Kildare attack. On the evidence of their displays so far the young Royals should be able to contain the Lilywhite threat and move into the decider - although there won"t be much between the sides at the end. And don"t rule out extra-time.