Throw-in
Croke Park, Sunday 15, July, 2.0pm
Online
Live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ New Now app from 1.30pm
Radio
Live commentary on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1
TV
Live coverage on Sky Sports with highlights on the Sunday Game on RTÉ2 at 9.30pm. You can also watch it on GAA GO.
Past 5 Championship meetings
2014: Monaghan 2-16 Kildare 2-14 aet (Round 4 qualifier)
2010: Kildare 1-15 Monaghan 1-11 (Round 4 qualifier)
1930: Monaghan 1-6 Kildare 1-4 (All-Ireland semi-final)
1929: Kildare 0-9 Monaghan 0-1 (All-Ireland semi-final)
1927: Monaghan 1-7 Kildare 0-2 (All-Ireland semi-final)
Form guide
If history is anything to go by, this game could well end in a draw. These two counties have played eleven All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals between them and they’ve won a combined total of one – that was Kildare beating Meath in 2010.
Both of these teams have come through the qualifiers, both have beaten a fellow Division 1 team along the way to this point and each of them have ticked a few boxes against lower division opposition.
Kildare looked a busted flush when they followed up a pointless Allianz League Division 1 campaign, which included defeat to Monaghan, with a humbling Leinster quarter-final defeat to Carlow.
But since then they have built up a bit of momentum, beating Derry and Longford on the road, Mayo at home, who could forget, and then Fermanagh in the last round.
Monaghan appeared to have installed themselves as the best team in Ulster when they beat Tyrone in a provincial quarter-final, but then they did their usual trick of losing to a team they were expected to beat – in this case Fermanagh.
The draw has been kind to them since, facing down Division 4 sides Waterford, Leitrim and Laois.
It’s difficult to draw a true form-line through either’s progress, though the Lilywhites look to have built the greater head of steam.
Player Watch
Daniel Flynn (Kildare)
The Lillies' Daniel Flynn has finally started to fulfil the rich potential that has been apparent since he first came to national attention as one of the stars of the St Mary’s Edenderry Hogan Cup win in 2012.
That helped him secure a professional contract with Port Adelaide in 2013 and following his return in 2015 he struggled to find his best form.
This summer though he has found his groove. After seeing bits and pieces of action in the middle of the field, manager Cian O’Neill seems to have decided the Johnstownbridge man is best left at the point of his attack on the edge of the square.
He backed up his 0-02 from play against Mayo with 1-03 against Fermanagh, including a point off his weaker left foot and a neatly placed finish for his goal to take his summer tally to 3-10.
If Kildare are to make it to an All-Ireland semi-final for the first time in eight years, they will need Flynn to lead the way.
Rory Beggan (Monaghan)
If it’s accepted that Stephen Cluxton is the best goalkeeper in the game, then Rory Beggan isn’t too far behind him though, with his accurate kicking an important part of his team’s identity.
Stopping shots is no longer the main job of a netminder in Gaelic football – it’s third on the list behind dealing with high balls and, primarily, kicking the ball out.
Beggan has another string to his bow too, coming up the field to kick long frees, raking up 0-03 against Laois the last day, including one ‘45’.
The Scotstown man is deadly accurate out of his hands, from the ground or off the tee and this gives his side a great platform to build from. Retaining possession from the restart is a key component of any top side’s strategy and Beggan’s abilities sees him hit his targets far more often than not.
Manager Watch
Cian O’Neill (Kildare)
The Kildare boss found a hill on which to make his stand and thus the Newbridge or Nowhere campaign was born.
It may not have been his intention, but he galvanised a county and got the average GAA fan rooting for the Lilywhites. They had to back this up with a performance and they did just that, beating series Sam Maguire contenders Mayo at St Conleth’s Park.
He managed to get his team down from that high and back to the grindstone to earn a workman-like win over Fermanagh in the final round of qualifiers. From a team that were dumped out of Leinster and were without a competitive win in 12 months, they’ve put four victories together and are building serious momentum ahead of their return to Croke Park.
Malachy O’Rourke (Monaghan)
O’Rourke’s stated aim for the season was reaching an All-Ireland semi-final by whatever means possible.
He would have preferred coming through the front door with another Ulster title won, but that wasn’t to be and he has regrouped his squad well to get them back on the road to where they want to be.
The former Fermanagh manager is one of the longest-serving inter-county chiefs on the circuit and certainly one of the shrewdest, having brought success wherever he has pitched up.
He will have been pleased with the draws his side received in the qualifiers, three Division 4 sides one after another, so they shouldn’t be too fatigued even though they are facing into their fourth week of action on the bounce.
He has never managed a team to a win in the quarter-finals and he will be desperate to start this season’s Super8 campaign with victory at Croke Park before back-to-back games against provincial champions Kerry and Galway.
Teams
Kildare: TBC
Monaghan: TBC
