After returning from Longford just 6 days ago, the Kingdom head back to the Midlands this coming Friday night to take on rivals Athlone Town on match night 13 of the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division campaign.
It’s the first of a double header this weekend, with league leaders Cork City crossing the county bounds on Monday evening for a local derby in Tralee.
But for now, full focus is on the trip to Athlone for Colin Healy’s side, and after the disappointment of Saturday’s result, it is straight back into action for the Kingdom in Lissywollen.
After being unbeaten in 2, the Kingdom suffered their 6th defeat of the season in Bishopsgate on Saturday evening, Aaron Doran’s strike midway through the opening half the decisive goal in the contest.
Athlone, on the other hand, comes into the game full of confidence with back-to-back victories over Bray Wanderers and away to Finn Harps last Friday night. They currently sit in 4th place on the table, 11 points clear of the Kingdom, a vast improvement from their wooden spoon finish last year.
But Kerry has a great record in the Athlone Town Stadium, losing just once in 6 trips to Lissywollen, with a famous win coming in the first season in the league. Perhaps something to build on when the Kingdom need to pick up points to keep the early hunt for a play-off place alive.
Head-to-Head
Total meetings – 14
Kerry FC Wins 5 | Draws 4 | Athlone Town Wins 5
Did you know?
Kerry FC’s first-ever win in the League of Ireland was against Athlone away in Lissywollen all the way back in 2023. Kerry FC’s biggest league win came in this fixture last season, winning 4-0 in Mounthawk Park just a couple of weeks after Kerry needed extra-time to knock the Midlanders out of the FAI Cup on that famous run last year.
Injury Update
Colin Healy has no fresh injury concerns to contend with ahead of the trip to the Midlands on Friday night. Matt Connor returned to the matchday 20 but remained on the bench for the 90 minutes. Harry Halwax (Quad) continues his recovery, while Daniel Okwute (Achilles) is back running on the field, so it will be another couple of weeks. Kieran Cooney also remains sidelined.
‘What they said’
Colin Healy
“Absolutely, every game we have to be at our best to get a result in this league. It will be no different on Friday night. They are a team in great form at the moment. So we need to be at it 100% if we are to get something up there.”