Kerry to face Cork City in Grandons Toyota Munster Senior Cup Semi-Final after 4-0 win over Leeds AFC in the Quarter Final.
The Kingdom are safely into the semi-finals of the Munster Senior Cup following an impressive showing against MSL side Leeds AFC in the last 8 on Saturday.
As pre-season continues for Colin Healy’s charges, the Munster Senior Cup adds a touch of jeopardy to what is normally just a pre-season workout.
The Kingdom came into the game off the back of a 2-0 win over Cobh Wanderers in the Last 16 of the tournament in Mounthawk Park, the final game to be held on the old red pitch, as ground works are now underway ahead of the 2026 season.
Leeds Park in Mayfield was the venue for this one and with a League of Ireland side in town, there was a huge crowd gathered at the club grounds in North Cork.
But, it was Kerry that controlled the encounter from the very start and set their priority out from the opening minutes when Cian Brosnan rose highest to a Sean O’Connell cross and netted after just 4 minutes. It was a well worked second ball by the Kingdom, who had a corner cleared back out to the taker in the first phase of play.
Shayne Stack made his competitive debut and deserved to be on the scoresheet a couple of minutes later, a fine effort from the edge of the area forced a big save from the Leeds keeper.
Kerry kept plugging away and in the 26th minute, Brosnan had his second. A cross come shot from the left hand side flew in over Eric Healy in the Leeds net, a speculative effort from the young Tralee man.
And just 6 minutes later, Cian Brosnan ensured the match ball was heading back to Gallowsfield. Sean McGrath made a sublime run through the middle and was taken down inside the box. The captain handed the ball to Brosnan who made no mistake from the spot and the game was over as a contest after 32 minutes.
5 minutes into the second period, Arran Healy scored his first Kerry FC goal, a lovely finish into the right hand corner on the turn. A memorable day for the Cork man in the Kerry shirt.
Despite Leeds getting a couple of chances, it was all Kerry throughout. Colin turned to his bench and unloaded the full 5 subs available to him, including goalkeeper Matt Connor who made a welcome return to the pitch having been out since September with injury.
A comfortable win for the Kingdom who have been drawn against fellow SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division outfit Cork City in the last 4, with a trip to Turners Cross on the cards for Kerry FC later this month.
Semi Final draw:
Cork City v Kerry FC
Waterford FC v Rockmount AFC
Kerry FC team: H Halwax, F Barrett, S O’Connell, S McGrath (c), D Okwute, J Häkkinen, C Brosnan (Goal 4, 26, 32P), S Aladesanusi, L Palmer, S Stack, A Healy (Goal 55)
Subs: M Connor, R Perez, V Borden, L Doolan, N Brookwell, E Lee, B Amadasun
Leeds AFC: E Healy, B Clancy-Byrne, A Hosford, C Gardiner, R O’Connor, S Daly, R Long, E Murphy ©️, D Tynan, D Foley, R Moroney
Subs: Z Lynch-Healy, S O’Sullivan, A Keating, D Dunlea, L Nicell, D Milner, L Forde
Referee – Allan Martin