Meath have ability to end Lilywhite losing streak

They have become a bit of a banana skin for Meath in recent years, but when Kildare come to Navan on Saturday night for their eagerly-awaited NFL Div 2 clash the home side will strongly fancy their chances of victory given the contrasting fortunes of both teams in the opening two games. Meath have hit the ground running in 2012 and apart from the O'Byrne Cup blip against DCU they have been quite emphatic in their performances while Kildare have struggled and lie in relegation trouble following losses to Tyrone and Monaghan. On form alone Meath will have to fancy their chances in a game that will be shown live on Setanta. Seamus McEnaney's side defeated Monaghan by six points in the opening round, while in round two the Farney county welcomed Kieran McGeeney's side to Clones and sent them packing with a 0-17 to 0-12 victory. Meath maintained their winning start to the NFL Div 2 campaign with an easy 0-17 to 0-5 win over Westmeath and after the recent spate of losses to Kildare, McEnaney's charges will be eager to put one over their new fiercest rivals. The sides met three times last year and on each occasion the Lilywhites emerged victorious. In the fifth round of the NFL in Newbridge Kildare claimed a 1-14 to 1-12 win which set them up for a 0-16 to 0-10 win over the Royal County in the Leinster SFC. The sides also met in the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers and once again Kildare proved too strong, winning 2-11 to 0-14. On all three occasions Meath had valid reasons to consider themselves unlucky, but on balance Kildare will hold the psychological upperhand ahead of next Saturday's encounter and if Meath are to buck the recent trend against Kildare then they will have to up the tempo of their performances to another level. Kildare gave an indication of a return to form with a SF challenge win over Kerry last weekend and while most of the Meath players have been kept on their toes with club action, McEnaney will be eager to see if his troops can maintain their good form. "This game against Kildare will be a different kettle of fish altogether from the first two NFL games. The break has come at a good time for Kildare, so they will provide a completely different scenario to anything we have have faced so far. Meath have played Kildare four times in the last 18 months and lost each time, so that is something that we will try to turn around," McEnaney told the Meath Chronicle. "I don't think the break will have done us any harm either. We had played three Sundays in-a-row before we had a break before the start of the league and that didn't do us any harm. We have put in a few serious sessions at training over the last three weeks, so I've no complaints about the break. "I accept that club games have to go on, but we did pick up a few knocks which is a bit of a worry. Graham Reilly is our biggest concern. We are delighted with our start to the league, but next Saturday will be a huge test to see where we are. I don't see a whole lot of changes to the team unless someone does really well in training, but it is a 20-man game now and we will need a full panel playing well," concluded McEnaney. Returns of 1-15 against Monaghan and 0-17 from the Westmeath test indicate that Meath's attacking options are healthy. Those options are set to be boosted by returns to fitness for Brian Farrell and Jamie Queeney and with Joe Sheridan and Cian Ward continuing to get more game time, Meath now have plenty of scope for attack with Stephen Bray, Reilly and Paddy Gilsenan all in good form, although Reilly remains a doubt. While neither Westmeath or Monaghan were at their best against Meath in the opening two games Mark Ward and Brian Meade can be pleased with their contributions from midfield. The quantity of primary possession gained has increased from recent years and with Seamus Kenny, Cormac McGuinness, Ciaran Lenehan and Chris O'Connor all doing well at the breakdown, Meath have also been able to secure a healthy amount of secondary possession. Kildare have struggled to get their attack into full flow this campaign and their return of a dozen points in both outings has been less than satisfactory for McGeeney. They did manage to score 0-18 in their one point win over Kerry last weekend and will be a danger for the Meath defence. However, Meath have also been stingy in their concession stakes with Westmeath managing just five points and Monaghan scoring just 1-9. Although Monaghan did cause a few more problems, kicking several poor wides under pressure from the Meath rearguard. The return of Kevin Reilly has increased the competition for places and with Caoimhin King also coming back to peak fitness there will be plenty of pressure on Bryan Menton, Shane McAnarney, Gary O'Brien, McGuinness and Mickey Burke to maintain their good form. With a run of four games on successive weekends starting next Saturday, Meath have a great opportunity to stake a claim for promotion. Kildare will provide a significant test, but if discipline can be maintained and chances capitalised upon then a third win on the trot is very much on the cards.