As Andrea Bocelli famously sang, ‘Time to Say Goodbye’. The season finale is somehow upon us, and the curtain comes down on Kerry FC’s most successful season to date by the seaside in Bray tomorrow evening. With the Seagulls already guaranteed a third-place finish in the league standings, Colin Healy will be hoping for a first-ever Kerry FC win or point in the Carlisle to finish the season on a high note.
In a season full of ups and downs, the Kingdom have already set a record points total and are guaranteed to avoid the First Division Wooden Spoon for the first time in 3 attempts for the League of Ireland new boys. That, coupled with a first-ever Sports Direct Men’s FAI Cup Quarter Final & Semi Final appearance, a first victory over a Premier Division side, a first national television appearance, a first… well, look, you catch my drift at this stage. It was a season of new highs for the club, and as the man says, records are there to be broken. There is already an air of excitement descending over the Kerry capital, and expectations are already high ahead of the new campaign.
But the final hurdle must be jumped first, and a final away day to close the campaign could set Kerry fans smiling into the winter recess. The hosts will be somewhat disappointed with their end-of-season form, but eyes are surely focused in on yet another play-off berth for the Wicklow side. 3 straight defeats, one at home to Longford and back-to-back defeats on the road to Cobh and Treaty, Bray will want to finish their home regular season on a high before facing the students of UCD in the play-off semi-final.
Can the Kingdom leave the Carlisle Grounds with something to show for their efforts, or will it be the 6th time unlucky for the Kingdom? We will have that answer around 9:30 on Friday evening. Either way, Up the Kingdom and enjoy the winter break!
Matchday 36
Bray Wanderers v Kerry FC – Friday, October 17th – 7:45pm Kick Off – Carlisle Grounds
Previous Meetings – All Competitions
Kerry FC Wins 1 Draws 1 Bray Wanderers Wins 9
Did You Know?
Kerry’s sole victory in this fixture came when the sides last met. That was on June 20th in Mounthawk Park when Abel Alabi scored a late-late winner for the Kingdom to send the Tralee venue into raptures under the summer sun. But Kerry are yet to get any sort of result in the Carlisle Grounds, losing on all 5 previous trips to the seaside. Kerry FC did score their first-ever goal in the Carlisle Grounds, which came in February 2023 when Leo Gaxha etched his name into Kerry Folklore. That could be one to save for a pub quiz in the future!
Injury Update
Kerry will wait on the fitness of both Ryan Perez and Joe Adams ahead of the season finale tomorrow night. Joe Adams missed the trip to Finn Harps on Monday after an early departure against Wexford last Friday, while Ryan Perez seemed to be subbed off as a precaution in Finn Park on Monday night. It would be rude not to include them in the final week. Ryan Kelliher, Nathan Gleeson and Tim-Oliver Hiemer won’t make a dramatic return to action on the final day; they remain on the long-term injury list.