Match Report – Longford Town v Kerry FC

REPORT: SSE AIRTRICITY MEN’S FIRST DIVISION

MATCH DAY 14: LONGFORD TOWN 2-1 KERRY FC

Kerry FC had a quick turnaround from Friday’s Cork City clash as they headed to Bishopsgate on the Bank Holiday Monday to take on Longford Town. It was against the same opposition that Kerry managed to pick up their first-ever home league win at the start of last month but since then things have not been going according to plan as they have only picked up one point in the last four games. Defeats against Bray Wanderers, Athlone Town and Cork City make their eight-game unbeaten run seem like an eternity ago and the Kingdom were desperate to get more points on the board against a Longford Town side who have yet to win a game this season.

It has been a tough hundredth year for Longford as former manager Stephen Henderson resigned after a run of poor results to begin the season and although they have been playing better in recent weeks, they still have not picked up a win in the 2024 campaign.

First Team Head Coach Conor McCarthy made a few changes from last Friday’s defeat against Cork with Evison Rramani and Jack Kavanagh making their first starts in Longford. Victor Udeze and Kennedy Amechi came back into the front three with Ethan Kos replacing captain Andy Spain who picked up an injury against Cork City on Friday.

First Half
The opening fifteen minutes or so were even enough with neither team doing very little to test each other. But that changed when Longford took the lead just after the 20-minute mark. A corner taken on the left side was swung in by Conor Crowley and went all the way to Luke Wade Slater at the back post who managed to nudge the ball further into Francis Campbell who headed in from close range. There were a few shouts for a foul on Kerry FC defender Ethan Kos, but on closer inspection, it was evident there was little to no contact and the goal stood.

Things only went from bad to worse for Kerry just six minutes later when Longford doubled their lead from another corner on the left side. Conor Crowley’s cross went all the way through to Luke Wade Slater at the back post whose diving header was enough to get it past Antonio Tuta. Conor McCarthy felt the need for change and made two changes soon after with Ryan Kelliher and Daniel Okwute coming on to try and salvage something from the game.
Dean O’Shea could have made it three as he got on the end of another corner, but his bullet header was not kept down and was always heading over the crossbar. Kerry FC’s first sight of goal came just seven minutes before half time as Jack Kavanagh got a second bite of the cherry from a blocked corner and put the ball into the box but Ryan Kelliher could not direct the ball towards goal as it rolled out for a goal kick.

Samuel Aladesanusi was called into defensive action as a last-stitched tackle kept out further Longford danger and soon thereafter the whistle was blown to signal the end of the first half. A disappointing performance in the first forty-five that the players and management wanted to get right in the second half.

Second Half
Kerry FC completed the rest of their five substitutions just fifty-six minutes into the game as Steven Healy, Sean O’Connell and Valerii Dolia came into the fold. Dolia was making his highly anticipated first-team debut after playing half an hour in an under 20’s game last week. Dolia had been out with a broken toe since signing for the club at the start of the season, so he was itching to get out on the pitch at this stage.
Evison Rramani tried an effort from well outside the box although it was ambitious, it was struck well and did not go that far over the bar. Longford played around the ball much like the end of the first half but did not create any chances in that time as they seemed to take their foot off the gas ever so slightly.

In the seventy-second minute, Kerry got a goal back through an unbelievable Ryan Kelliher acrobatic finish. Evison Rramani played the ball out to Daniel Okwute who crossed the ball in for Kelliher. A deflection meant that it was hard for Kelliher to control but he popped the ball up with his knee and bicycle kicked it into the back of the net giving Jack Brady no chance whatsoever.

Kerry FC pushed on but created nothing of note to test the Longford keeper. Time started to run out for Kerry and the whistle eventually blew for full-time as Longford Town picked up their first three points of the season. Kerry are back at home on Friday when they take on UCD as the Kingdom will look to get points on the board once more this season.