It's not at all surprising that Dublin and Kildare have selected the same teams that started last time, particularly as it was the best match of the championship to date. The whole-hearted effort of every player in the drawn match deserves great credit, especially with the sheer intensity and pace throughout the 70 minutes.

It was still a match that either team could have won and both of them will take a lot of positives out of it. They'll feel equally confident going into this afternoon's game and, as a result, both managers have kept faith with the same 15, with the injured Ian Robertston being the only exception.

The fitness level of this Kildare team at the moment is phenomenal, and they've certainly taken the county to a new plane with relentless running and support play.

And it's difficult for any side to curtail it. In the early stages of the first match, it was obvious how difficult Dublin were finding it to come to grips with the pace and, with full respect to Wexford and Westmeath, it was a different test for Dublin.

They were at sea for the first 10 minutes or so and it took the likes of Brian Stynes, Paul Curran and Paddy Christie to settle the boat. Ciaran Whelan and Dessie Farrell did look out of sorts at certain stages but obviously the lack of training told against them.

There was some feeling as well that Kildare didn't play as well as they could. Their dominant line to date has been midfield and, after a great start by Martin Lynch in particular, they faded quite a lot.

They were probably unstuck by the strong and physical Dublin half-back line, who I thought were exceptional in stopping a succession of Kildare onslaughts.

A lot of Dublin's strength came from the workmanlike display of Brian Stynes. But it was great for the confidence of Peadar Andrews as well to play such a leading role. But I was less convinced about Coman Goggins in the corner and that remains a slight worry for the Dublin sideline.

Kildare have also found some useful scoring forwards, particularly in Padraig Brennan, Tadgh Fennin and John Doyle. They are willing and able to capitalise on the Kildare possession which had been sadly lacking for a long while before.

Still, I'd say that Mick O'Dwyer was very annoyed by the amount of short ball played by the forwards into the hands of the Dublin goalkeeper. It's unforgivable to do that so many times, and it's even worse than kicking wide because it gives the opposition the chance to set up an attack.

Dublin did dominate midfield the last day and I feel Whelan will take on an even greater role today. I know from seeing him in Australia that he is a fantastic athlete and I feel that two more weeks training behind him will become a major factor in helping to swing the tie in Dublin's favour. He has the potential to be a real match-winner and I also expect Farrell to show better form.

Overall, I feel Dublin came out of the last game with the greater momentum and I feel they will have gained more from it. Kildare will certainly feel they had their chances, especially with the goal opportunities, and probably have the greater sense that they left it behind them.

But it's always hard to know with Kildare because they make so many opportunities with their running game that they may hit another day like they did against Offaly and hit everything over the bar.

We won't know until before the throw-in who is going to start at full-forward for Dublin but I know Vinnie Murphy very well from playing with Kerins O'Rahillys here in Kerry and I was surprised to see Tom Carr not giving him the free-taking responsibility the last day.

So, otherwise, you're looking at Declan Darcy, who has also been off the pace of championship football of late. He is still a proven free-taker under pressure and I would say the management will be more tempted to play him. But I still feel that Murphy can turn a game if he becomes a target man at full forward, so he may be introduced in the second half.

Dublin did switch their forwards the last day and bringing Jason Sherlock out to the 40 was a master move. It was the first time that I've seen him kick some very skilful points from a long way out, something he never really showed in the corner.

Colin Moran also looked very threatening, but the old problem of Dublin teams failing to turn possession into scoring is still lurking there. It's vital they get a freetaker. Every championship-winning side these days has a recognised free-taker.

I still think we are in for another very close game, but what Kildare have been missing all season is an out-and-out target man at full-forward. They need that option the odd time to play the long ball but they found it difficult in 50-50 balls in front of goal.

I still get the feeling Dublin are mentally and physically strong enough to pull through and they've definitely got the spirit and the hunger to work for each other.

It's an intriguing encounter and Kildare will be hard to beat, but Dublin should sneak through.

In an interview with Ian O'Riordan