After an impressive victory on the road last Saturday in Longford, Kerry put their 12-game unbeaten run in Mounthawk Park on the line tomorrow night with the visit of Bray Wanderers to Tralee for a 19:45 kick-off.
That win in Bishopsgate saw the Kingdom rise 3 places on the league table, with the league’s newest side sitting in 4th place heading into Matchday 31 of 36 this season. A win for Kerry tomorrow night would see Kerry finish the night in 3rd place, leapfrogging the Seagulls. The race for the playoff places will go down to the wire, with just 7 points separating 2nd and 6th, while 11 points separate 2nd from 8th. Strap yourself in for a rollercoaster finish to this year’s campaign.
It’s been a really impressive second half of the season for Colin Healy’s outfit, losing just two league games since the turn of the season in early June. Since then, Kerry have picked up some seriously impressive results, including wins away to UCD, Bray and Longford, the latter two for the first time in the club’s history. But this will be a sprint finish to the line for the playoff places, and while a win will bring Kerry to 3rd, defeat could see the Kingdom drop to 7th in the table, as the chasers become the chased on every given week.
Bray Wanderers, currently in 3rd on the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division table, will come to Tralee in search of a valuable 3 points tomorrow night. They’ve had a mixed bag of late, including that four-nil home defeat to the Kingdom on July 31st. Since that game, they’ve managed just 1 win in 6 games, that coming over a month ago against bottom side Finn Harps. But the seagulls will take confidence in a 1-1 draw against now champions Cork City last Friday night at the Carlisle Grounds.
With a big crowd expected in Mounthawk Park, Kerry won’t want the unbeaten run snatched off them at a crucial stage of the season.
Head-to-head
Kerry FC Wins – 2 Draws – 2 Bray Wanderers Wins – 11
Did You Know?
History was made when these sides last met, as Kerry secured their first-ever win in the Carlisle Grounds last month. It was also the largest winning margin between the sides, with Kerry winning out by 4 goals to nil in a one-sided encounter by the seaside.
Injury Update
It’s as you were on the injury front for Kerry FC, as Colin Healy reports a fairly fresh bill of health ahead of the visit of Bray Wanderers to Mounthawk Park tomorrow night. Daniel Okwute has returned to team training; it remains unknown if he will make the matchday squad this week. Finn Barrett is getting closer to a return while Luke Doolan remains absent. Ryan Kelliher remains absent long-term.
‘What they said’
Colin Healy – “All our focus is on the Bray game this Friday; we’ve gotten our training week right. Hopefully the fans will pack out Mounthawk Park, and everyone gets behind the team. We know we can put on a performance for everybody. There is a great buzz around the place with the supporters, but it’s up to us to put on a performance for the fans to make sure they keep coming back; it’s the same at every level of football. I feel that, especially in the second half of the season, we are winning matches and the crowd is getting noisier; there are more people coming in. I suppose, as a player, you always want to play in good atmospheres, and it does encourage you on, so hopefully that will continue for our final 3 home games.”