Match Report – Kerry FC v Longford Town

REPORT: SSE AIRTRICITY MEN’S FIRST DIVISION

MATCHDAY 21: KERRY FC 2-1 LONGFORD TOWN

Kerry FC were back in action on the unusual Thursday evening as they faced Longford Town at home in Mounthawk Park. The last time the two faced each other was in Bishopsgate as Longford took the three points on the May Bank Holiday Monday. Ryan Kelliher’s overhead goal of the month contender was only a consolation as the Town took a deserved victory on the day.

Longford’s last visit to Tralee ended in a 3-0 defeat which was a historic win for Kerry FC as they won their first ever League of Ireland game in their home ground. It was a wet and windy game at the start of April but that did not bother the Kerry FC fans as they were in full voice at the final whistle as a huge weight had been taken off of the team’s shoulders.

Kerry FC were looking for their third home win in a row after wins against Finn Harps and Treaty United has made Mounthawk Park a difficult place to visit for visiting teams. The evening saw Aaron O’Sullivan start his first game of the season as he replaced Antonio Tuta in between the sticks. Nathan Gleeson replaced Daniel Okwute on the right wing as Okwute picked up a suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

First Half
Kerry started on the front foot right from the off. Ryan Kelliher tested the waters in the first minute with a shot from distance, but it did not have much power or pace on it and rolled easily into the hands of Longford Town goalkeeper Jack Brady.

Kerry were on top for the majority of the opening twenty minutes with Longford only having possession in defensive areas to show for themselves. The increasing pressure on Longford Town eventually caved for the away side when Ryan Kelliher put Kerry ahead in the twenty-sixth minute. Kerry opened space for themselves on the left side of the pitch and a pass from Sean McGrath gave Cian Brosnan acres of space to brilliantly pick out Kelliher at the near post who gave the most delicate of flicks into the bottom right corner. A fantastic finish from Kerry’s number 9 and much deserved Kerry FC goal to put the home side one nil up.

Ronan Teahan had the chance to double the Kerry FC lead moments later. A pass from Sean McGrath went behind the number 8 but he did very well to sort his feet out and get the shot off, although it was straight at Brady it was still a tough save to make, and he did so very well to put the ball over the bar and out for a corner which consequently led to nothing.

Even with all the Kerry FC pressure, they would concede their third goal from a corner in two games as Longford equalised through Karl Chambers two minutes before halftime. The corner was taken on the left side of the pitch and Chambers got in front at the near post and directed his header brilliantly into the far corner to give Longford Town a lifeline heading into the break.

Second Half
Nathan Gleeson nearly put Kerry FC back ahead six minutes after the restart after a lovely cross from Sean McGrath on the left wing found Gleeson. His first touch was excellent, and his shot unfortunately hit the post. He had another bite of the cherry but was blocked superbly by Dean O’Shea.

It was quite cagey from that point on with Longford starting to get a foothold on the game. They had a couple of near chances but nothing really to trouble Aaron O’Sullivan in the Kerry FC goal. Kerry seemed to have put all their energy into the first-half performance as chances in the second half were few and far between. It only needed one big chance from either side in the closing stages of the game to get the three points.

With seven minutes to play in the second half, Kerry FC got themselves back into the lead through yet another goal from Ryan Kelliher. Kevin Williams did great work on the right side to feed the ball through to Sean McGrath in a dangerous position. The chance looked like it had slipped away but McGrath picked out a great cross to an unmarked Ryan Kelliher in the six-yard box to fire home and regain the lead for the home side.

Kevin Williams was in action at both ends as he then headed the ball out for a corner in a dangerous time in the game with only a minute of stoppage time to play. Longford were doing their best to spoil the party in Mounthawk Park before Sean McGrath broke away with the ball in a one-on-one with Jack Brady. Unfortunately for McGrath, Brady made a great save but it did not make a difference as the whistle blew for full-time moments after the chance was saved.

Kerry FC made it back-to-back-to-back home wins at home building Mounthawk Park into a fortress that no team would like to visit. There is a week break across the League of Ireland next Friday night and the next action from Kerry FC will be in their historic first-ever final as they take on Waterford FC in the Munster Senior Cup Final in Turners Cross on Monday, June 24th.