In the midst of an early winter wind, rain and hail storm, Kerry FC emerged on top in what was an epic final against Shamrock Rovers as the club’s Men’s Under 20 side wrote their names into the history books as the first Kerry FC side to win a League of Ireland trophy in the club’s short existence.
After a hectic season, the Under 20 side narrowly missed qualification for the Tier 1 competition by just a couple of points on the league table. But some impressive results in the third quarter for the campaign, the Kingdom secured a quarter-final berth in the Shield (Tier 2) competition. A comeback 2-3 away victory over Bray Wanderers in the last 8 was followed up by an impressive 2-0 semi-final win over Cobh Ramblers in Mounthawk Park to book the Kingdom’s place in the final against Rovers. An incredible feat in itself for Kerry, who had reached the Tier 3 (Plate) final the previous two seasons, but lost out on both occasions in the decider.
A big crowd gathered in expectation in Mounthawk Park on Saturday evening. A coin-toss allowed for home advantage for Kerry FC in the final, and a huge advantage it proved in the end. The final was played on tenterhooks throughout the opening 90 minutes, with neither side wanting to make the first mistake in a tactical battle.
Kerry came close a number of times throughout the opening 45, including chances for Brosna’s Luke Palmer and Killarney man Luke Doolan. But Shamrock Rovers did threaten the goal on a number of occasions, but Killorglin’s Darragh Foley refused to be beaten between the sticks.
The second half started in the same manner as the first, with both sides threatening the opener as the game started to open up as we ticked nearer the end of the 90 and extra-time beckoned.
But, it seemed Kerry hearts were to be broken yet again. Josh O’Dwyer found himself on the end of a lovely ball across from a Shamrock Rovers winger, and he tucked his effort home to the bottom right-hand corner to send the away dugout into jubilation as they thought the game was won.
With a minute of the 5 added on remaining, Kerry launched one last attack out on the right-hand side. Some lovely link-up play from substitute Rob Keane left Andy Kerins swing in a lovely cross which was met high in the Mounthawk sky by Ryan Perez. His header rattled off the crossbar, but a striker’s instinct by Luke Doolan, who was waiting on the edge of the 6-yard box for the rebound. The Leaving Cert student in the Sem riffled the ball into the net, and the roar from the large crowd was deafening. Referee Oisin Walsh blew the full-time whistle, and we were headed for extra time. What is it with Kerry FC and cup drama!
Again, the added 30 minutes were played out in a tentative fashion. A deluge of rain, hail and high winds didn’t allow for the best of football, but both teams had to adapt to the atrocious weather conditions in the county capital. A Shamrock Rovers attack petered out to a Darragh Foley kick-out as the clock ticked into 120 minutes. With a minute added, it seemed we were headed for the dreaded penalty shootout once again, but then came a moment of sheer magic.
As conditions worsened, Darragh Foley launched one last attack from the back. A long-ranging kick out, aided by the wind, beat the Shamrock Rovers’ back line. The pacey Luke Doolan got in behind and, with composure beyond his years, took the ball around the Shamrock Rovers goalkeeper (Todd Bazunu, brother of Ireland international Gavin) and he smashed the ball into the empty net with the last kick of the game. Cue the frantic celebrations with the Kerry bench running to the goalscorer, is sheer joyous scenes between the players and fans alike.
The torrential rain didn’t spoil the celebrations as Kerry were crowned Shield champions. Kerry FC captain and Killarney man Oran Horgan collected the trophy and, after an inspiring speech, lifted the trophy with his teammates to the backing track of Tina Turner’s ‘Simply the Best’
Killarney’s Luke Doolan was named man of the match and collected his trophy as recognition of the former Killarney Athletic’s man’s efforts throughout the 120 minutes, and with First Team Manager Colin Healy watching from the stands, we could be likely to see Luke feature more and more for the senior side in 2026.
It is a day that will live long in the memories of everyone associated with the club. Kerry have been playing League of Ireland football for 6 seasons, 3 seasons before the introduction of the senior side in 2023. We’ve come a long way in that time, and a trophy is the icing on the cake in what has been a record-breaking season for the club both on and off the pitch.
