Lillies cry out for a competitive performance as Kildare's big day finally arrives

After a staggered build-up the big day is finally here. Flags and bunting have progressively made their way onto lampposts, the exterior of businesses and houses all across the county, with Naas in particular becoming a sea of white in the last number of days. It took a while for the county to swing into gear in preparation of the Lilywhites first appearance in a Leinster final in eight years, but the sight of Liffey Bridge in Newbridge being covered in white has added to the sense of occasion. Maybe it's a case of once bitten, twice shy. Maybe it's the fact that Kildare have not enjoyed a successful championship campaign through the front door in so long, or maybe it's just a case of realism and trepidation as Cian O'Neill's side face a Dublin juggernaut who are after their seventh Leinster title in a row and the glory of becoming the first team of the modern era to land three All-Ireland's on the spin. Today is sure to be a rousing occasion, and the big hope for supporters is that Kildare perform to their optimum. Should they do that, they will have a chance. Saying that, if Dublin perform to the peak of their powers it looks a tall order for a young Kildare side for whom none of the starting 15 have featured in a provincial decider before. So how do Kildare take down the Dubs? That's a question that every team has been posed with since the beginning of the 2015 championship, and, aside from Kerry's win in this year's league final, nobody has answered it sufficiently as of yet. That day in which Kerry dethroned Dublin from their status as Division 1 champions was striking as Kildare were defeated in the Division 2 decider by Galway. Anyone who witnessed both games in Croke Park on that afternoon will have noted the sizable gap in quality between the two games; it really showed the difference between the two divisions. But Kildare have since proved in championship performances against Meath and Laois that they possess an energetic team full of pace, fitness and an endearing air of physicality that was simply too much for their previous opposition. Maybe the Galway performance was a once off? Maybe Kildare were dragged down by some negative tactics? Maybe they just under-performed? The Lilywhites have been best when the game becomes open and expansive. The likes of Fergal Conway, Paul Cribbin and David Slattery have showcased an ability to carry the ball over long distances to provide a link between defence and attack, while Ollie Lyons looks like Keith Higgins 2.0 in the way he punches holes through opponent's backlines. This tends to happen when the game is more open, and though Dublin appear to play in such a way, there is no denying that they have a supreme defensive system that is very efficient and shutting other attacks down. “It was interesting to see at times in the match and it wasn’t because Westmeath had 15 men up, two or three weren’t, so to see 15 Dublin players all behind the 45-metre line was interesting," noted Cian O'Neill in the build-up to today's game. [caption id="attachment_150104" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Kevin Feely's performance for Kildare will be key.[/caption] Whether his observations are right or wrong is a relatively moot point; Dublin have been sturdy in defence since 2015 after Donegal managed to expose their weaknesses in the 2014 All-Ireland semi-final. They may be missing Jonny Cooper and Philly McMahon - two of Ireland's best defenders- but Eric Lowndes and Darren Daly have made the seamless transition into the full-back line to form a formidable unit alongside Michael Fitzsimons. It will be a fascinating area of the field to watch. Daniel Flynn and Cathal McNally have been cutting defences to shreds in the championship so far, and the reintegration of Paddy Brophy adds another thrilling dimension to the attack. If Flynn can open his legs and run at the Dublin defence he can cause problems, and while Cian O'Neill might be focusing his gameplan around the former AFL player, Jim Gavin probably has a strategy to nullify his threat too. It's pointless having Flynn on top form if Kildare can't break even around the middle and get a good supply of ball into him. A huge weight of expectation falls on Kevin Feely, who despite being the same age as his counterpart Brian Fenton, has not got the experience of top level GAA games that the midfield All-Star has. Feely has been one of the most talked about footballers in the country this year due to his colourful past that includes playing underage hurling for Waterford and professional soccer in England, but he has made a name for himself in the Kildare engine room due to his breathtaking catching prowess, classy foot-passing and ability to accurately kick frees off either foot. Dublin absolutely destroyed the Westmeath midfield last time out, with Fenton looking to break the Lake County kickouts back towards their own goal more often than not, and he will probably attempt to do something similar on Mark Donnellan's restarts. On Dublin's kickouts Kildare will probably look to push up when they can, but Stephen Cluxton is so quick at getting the ball out on the restart that such a tactic is impossible to operate throughout the 70 plus minutes. The narrative around this afternoon's game is that Kildare are a coming team in Leinster, but today is too soon for them to actually beat Dublin. Most predict them to compete but fall short by about 10 points in the end. An incredible effort will be needed to come close to beating the All-Ireland champions today, but sides such as Down, Roscommon and Carlow have proven over recent times that with the right performance you can go mightily close. Cill Dara Abú.