REPORT: SSE AIRTRICITY MEN’S FIRST DIVISION
MATCHDAY 9: Cork City 4-2 Kerry FC
Kerry FC travelled just a short spin up the road to play Cork City in Munster FA Turners Cross Stadium to wrap up the Bank Holiday weekend. Both sides came into the game needing a win. Cork were held to a nil-all draw in Ballybofey on Friday night against Finn Harps, whereas Kerry FC lost 2-1 at home to Cobh Ramblers.
It was also the fixture that would wrap up the quarter mark in the First Division season. Kerry FC had just six points from a possible twenty-four, whereas Cork City, the league leaders, had twenty. Two very contrasting seasons, but derby fixtures have an odd way of being closer than the league table looks, so it was never a certainty that this one was going to be straightforward.
Colin Healy returned from suspension as he was back in Turners Cross for the first time since departing as the first team manager. Healy hoped for a good return as Cork hoped to spoil the reunion.
FIRST HALF
Kerry FC made a dream start inside the opening two minutes. Kerry were awarded a penalty following a long throw-in from Cian Bargary that was controlled by Cian Murphy. The ball struck the outstretched hand of Fiacre Kelleher, leaving the referee with a straightforward decision. Cian Murphy stepped up and calmly rolled his effort into the bottom right corner to give Kerry FC an early lead.
Kerry looked lively following the opener and nearly doubled their advantage in the fourteenth minute. Arran Healy made a brilliantly timed run and bore down on goal, but from a tight angle, he fired into the side netting. Two minutes later, Niall Brookwell went into the referee’s notebook as the visitors continued to battle in midfield.
Cork City threatened in the seventeenth minute when a free kick from deep was delivered to the back post, where Fiacre Kelleher rose highest, but his header landed on the roof of the net. The hosts continued to press, and in the twentieth minute, Sean Maguire saw his shot blocked superbly by Jonas Häkkinen, with the resulting corner coming to nothing.
Kerry responded well and created an opportunity of their own in the twenty-third minute. A well-worked corner routine fell to Ryan Kelliher on the edge of the box, but his effort drifted just over the crossbar. Four minutes later, Kerry won a free kick in a dangerous position. Cian Bargary struck it well, though Conor Brann gathered comfortably.
The visitors continued to probe, and in the thirty-fourth minute, a dangerous delivery from Cian Bargary almost picked out Cian Murphy at the near post, but the ball just evaded him. Cork City then produced a chance of their own in the forty-second minute when Cillian Murphy’s close-range effort went just wide of the target. A minute later, Vince Borden was shown a yellow card as tensions began to rise before the interval.
Five minutes were added at the end of the first half, and Kerry used that added time to their full advantage. In the forty-fifth minute, Ryan Kelliher produced a brilliant individual effort. Picking the ball up on the left side inside the area, he cut inside with plenty still to do and took the shot on himself, finding the far side of the net to double Kerry’s lead. It capped off an impressive opening period from the visitors, who went into the break two goals to the good.
SECOND HALF
Cork City emerged for the second half determined to respond and threatened in the fiftieth minute when Cillian Murphy fired wide of Harry Halwax’s left-hand post. Kerry were then forced into a change in the fifty-second minute as Sean O’Connell replaced Kieran Cooney, who departed with a suspected injury.
The pressure from the hosts soon told. In the fifty-fourth minute, Cork City pulled one back when a ball delivered from the left was met by Sean Maguire, who rose highest to head home. Two minutes later, Maguire was shown a yellow card as the game became increasingly physical.
Kerry found themselves pushed back in the sixty-third minute but continued to defend resolutely. Cork City nearly found an equaliser in the sixty-eighth minute when Sean Maguire’s header looked destined for the net, only for Sean O’Connell to clear off the line. Greg Bolger was then cautioned in the seventieth minute as Cork’s pressure intensified.
Further chances followed for the hosts, with Cillian Murphy firing over from just inside the area in the seventy-second minute. Kerry made another change in the seventy-fourth minute as Eric Koufie replaced Ryan Kelliher in an attempt to shore things up and add some fresh legs.
However, Cork City eventually drew level in the eighty-first minute from the penalty spot. A long ball into the area resulted in a physical contest between Vince Borden and Fiacre Kelleher. The decision went in favour of Kelleher, and Borden received a second yellow card for the challenge. Sean Maguire stepped up and placed his penalty into the bottom left corner, sending Harry Halwax the wrong way to make it 2-2. Two minutes later, Arran Healy was booked as Kerry attempted to regroup.
Cork City completed the turnaround in the eighty-ninth minute. A corner swung in from the right found Fiacre Kelleher, whose header put the hosts ahead for the first time in the match. Kerry introduced Ryan Perez in the ninetieth minute, replacing Arran Healy, but the hosts quickly added another.
In the ninetieth minute, Cork City extended their lead when Mpongo rounded Halwax and drifted wide before squaring the ball across goal to Sean Maguire, who finished into an empty net to complete his hat-trick. Despite Kerry’s strong first-half showing, Cork City’s late surge proved decisive, and the match ended in a 4-2 defeat for the visitors.
Kerry must now regroup as they look ahead to Friday night’s home fixture against UCD in Mounthawk Park before they take on Cork City once again next Tuesday in the Grandon’s Toyota Munster Senior Cup semi-final.
Cork City Team: Conor Brann; Fiacre Kelleher (GOAL ‘90), Charlie Lyons, AJ Bridge, Ruairi Keating, Hans Kamta Mpongo, Darragh Crowley, Josh Fitzpatrick, Sean Maguire (GOAL ‘55, PEN ‘81, ‘92), Rory Feely, Cillian Murphy.
Subs Used: Harry Nevin, Greg Bolger, Conor Drinan, Matthew Murray.
Kerry FC Team: Harry Halwax; Kilian Cantwell (C), Kieran Cooney, Ryan Kelliher (GOAL ‘45), Cian Murphy (PEN GOAL ‘2), Jonas Häkkinen, Vince Borden, Niall Brookwell, Ewan Lee, Arran Healy, Cian Bargary.
Subs Used: Ryan Perez, Sean O’Connell, Eric Koufie.