For the first time in the 2026 season, Kerry embarks on a second away game in 7 days as the Kingdom heads from the south-west to the south-east to take on Wexford FC in Ferrycarrig Park.
Kerry come into the game unbeaten in the last 2 games, but has yet to record a win in the 2026 SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division. A 1-1 draw against Longford in Mounthawk Park was backed up with a point on the road last time out in the Markets Field, a game in which Kerry might feel they did enough to win.
Colin Healy’s men face another tricky test on Friday night in Wexford, but will take confidence from recent performances in the ground. This time last year, Kerry left Ferrycarrig with all 3 points, scoring 2 goals in the opening 4 minutes on their way to a first win on a grass surface for the club, a start I’m sure Colin Healy will be looking to repeat tomorrow night.
Wexford have started the season well, with 5 points from the opening 4 games, all those points coming on the road. They impressed with an opening night demolition of Cobh Ramblers in St. Colman’s Park and have since recorded back-to-back draws away to Athlone Town and Finn Harps. Their sole home game was a defeat to league leaders Cork City on matchday 2, so Steven Elliott’s side will be eager to kick-start their home campaign with a victory.
For the Kingdom, the hope is that the wait for a league win will end sooner rather than later, and with a near full squad to choose from, Colin Healy will hope to head down the road with all 3 points before Finn Harps make the long journey down to the Kingdom next Friday night.
Head-to-head
Kerry FC Wins – 1 Draws – 3 Wexford FC Wins – 8
Did You Know?
Kerry recorded a famous win over Wexford when the sides met on Matchday 6 last season, securing the club’s first win on grass, which was met by great excitement from the Kerry faithful in the away end.
Injury Update
Colin Healy has reported no fresh injury concerns ahead of the trip to Wexford, with the majority of the squad fit and ready for action. Kieran Cooney made his comeback from injury with a couple of minutes in the Markets Field on Friday night, backed up with a full 90 in the MU20s victory over Treaty on Saturday. Cian Bargary is now in full training, so his debut is expected shortly, while Ryan Kelliher ticks ever closer to the Matchday 20.
‘What they said’
Colin Healy – “They are a very good side, every game is tough in this league. A difficult place to go, and they have a really good manager in Steven Elliott. They’ve made some good signings this year, but we just have to focus on ourselves. We will do our homework on them, train well all week, and we will have a gameplan in place going up to Wexford on Friday. Hopefully, we can keep pushing on and improving every week.”
Vincent Borden – “I think after the last couple of games, we are very optimistic. We are very close to being a really good team, I think we’ve shown that a lot, particularly in our first-half performances in probably every game we’ve played. I think we’ve scored first in almost every game, so we are nearly there. Coming out from the start, being aggressive and on top, connecting passes and getting set pieces, and keeping the ball in the opposing half are important. We’ve been working hard over the last few weeks and during pre-season as well, it’s just to get a few more things our way, maybe a little bit of luck here and there, we can definitely get the season rolling and getting wins.”