The Kingdom make the long journey to Oriel Park tomorrow evening to take on the league leaders Dundalk FC in County Louth.
Kerry have restored a bit of form, picking up back-to-back wins in Mounthawk Park over the last two weeks and have only conceded 2 goals in the month of August. Colin Healy will be happy that his squad has settled down, and new signings through the door have impressed since joining in July. With a big cup game in a couple of weeks, Kerry will be looking at this tough challenge as one to build on for the September 12th showdown.
Dundalk, meanwhile, continue to impress and are going to stroll to the First Division league title. They’ve proven too strong for the opposition thrown in front of them this term and are well placed for an automatic return to the Premier Division at the first time of asking. With talent all over the pitch, any result that isn’t a defeat for the Kingdom on Friday night can be considered a very successful outing to the ‘wee’ county.
Kerry currently sit 7 points off the playoff places with 7 games left to play, so hopes, no matter how small, are still there that the Kingdom could pull off an end of season run and who knows, come 6 or 7 games time, where Kerry might sit on the table. Either way, with a record points total and the longest run in the Cup for the club will make this a successful campaign.
Matchday 29
Dundalk FC v Kerry FC – Friday, August 29th – 19:45 Kick Off – Oriel Park
Previous Meetings – All Competitions
Kerry FC Wins 0 Draws 0 Dundalk FC Wins 3
Did You Know?
Kerry have now surpassed their record points total in the league set in 2024, showing the continued growth of the club in the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division. This is just the second time Kerry have played in County Louth and likely to be the last for at least another year, barring a cup draw away next term.
Injury Update
Colin Healy gave no fresh injury concerns ahead of Friday night’s game. Ronan Teahan and Sean McGrath have both returned to full training this week and are eligible for selection tomorrow night. Tim-Oliver Hiemer, Ryan Kelliher and Nathan Gleeson continue to remain sidelined while Daniel Okwute continues to serve his suspension.
What they said?
Colin Healy – “They’ve got a very, very good squad, a lot of attacking options and a lot of good players. Listen, Ciarán has done a very good job there with them. It will be a difficult place to go, it will be but the last time we were up there, I felt in the first half, we had a good shape to us, we were unlucky not to get a goal with some very good chances. I think they got a soft goal just before half-time, which knocked us back a small bit. But, look, it’s a tough place to go and at the moment they are in top, top form. So it will be a difficult task, but as I keep saying, we need to go to these places and enjoy it and show people what we can do as well. We are doing ok at the moment, and it will be a big test for us, but it’s one that the players are looking forward to.”