Kerry FC 2023

barryribs

This Friday is the start of a new era in Kerry soccer, with Kerry FC taking on Cobh Ramblers at Mounthawk park. Tickets for the game are sold out but for those of you who still want to see the game you can watch it online for 5 EUR here: https://www.loitv.ie/en-int/playerpage/1575221

The next home game is in two weeks with Treaty United coming down from Limerick. A full list of league fixtures are here https://kerryfc.com/league-fixtures/

There has been great work done to get this off the ground and get a squad together in such a short period from their license approval in November. Hopefully the team can replicate the success and support of other new teams in the county.

barryribs

A good performance on Friday night, without the result. Kerry started the second half the better of the two teams with Leo Gaxha coming off the bench and almost immediately equalising and a clearance off the line stopped Kerry from drawing level. Once Ramblers got the second, they controlled the game well and the result is probably a fair reflection of the game.

Plenty of positives to be taken from it, a brand new team with limited games together and did not look out of their depth at all. Next up in what should be a tougher game Kerry are away to Bray Wanderers on Friday night.

barryribs

After a very good first half, against the run of play Bray took the lead at the end of the first half and got a second early in the second. Kerry responded well with Leo Gaxha scoring the first goal for the club, but Bray got a third shortly after and were comfortable until the final whistle. A much more balanced performance with long periods on top and a big step forward from the first game.

Next game is Friday night as Treaty United make the trip to Tralee from Limerick. Despite more tickets being made available on the sidelines, its another sell out and represents the best chance to get something from the game so far this year. It's available online through the League of Ireland pass

Mazzy Star

I am Dublin based so made the short hop out to Bray to catch the game Friday night.

Gaxha looks to be a real talent.

barryribs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120295318#Comment_120295318

Fair play, was there many in the away section?

Mazzy Star

5 of us headed in my crew, we are all Kerry expats living in the capital.

There was a few others there alright.

The home crowd even was sparse enough, tannoy said the attendance was 1,500.

I will try to get back to Bray later in the season and if there are any cup matches in the big smoke I will try make those too.

barryribs

Kerry FC 1 - 1 Treaty United

The improving team welcomed Treaty united last Friday and carried the momentum into the game. On top for much of the first half, Treaty were under pressure particularly out wide, with Kerry's full backs pushing up. Leo Gaxha again showed his class cutting a ball into the box for Sean Kennedy to score after ten minutes. After the goal, the game opened up with chances at both ends but Treaty would get the equaliser halfway through the first half. The second half would be more of the same in an open game with keeper Wayne Guthrie making some important saves to keep Kerry in it. After a silly second yellow for Andy Quaid, Kerry would hang on to claim their first point of the campaign.

Next up are league leaders Galway United away on Friday night which is likely to be a very tough test.

The club shop is also open on Thursday evenings 6-8 in the hall in Mounthawk park

barryribs

Galway United 9 - 1 Kerry FC

The scoreline speaks for itself.

Next up is another away game against Wexford FC on St Patricks day at the changed time of 6pm

barryribs

Wexford FC 2 - 1 Kerry FC

Last friday saw the team respond well following the defeat to Galway a week earlier. Going down one nil early and struggling through the majority of the first half, Kerry started the second half well on top. A clear handball in the box was waived away by the referee and with lots of changes from both sides, the game became a frantic with Wexford unable to keep possession for any length of time. Another fortunate break for Wexford saw a deflected shot extend their lead but Kerry responded well. A great cross from Ryan Kelleher into the box saw Leo Gaxha header home brilliantly with only a a couple of minutes left.

A good response from a team who are still developing. Rob Vasiu got his first game and made a great impact off the bench, on the verge of half time, has played for Kerry at U15, U17 and U19 level, so the future is bright.

This Friday, Kerry host Athlone town who many consider to be the best opportunity to get the first win of the season. There is a handful of tickets left over on https://kerryfc.com/tickets/

cms88

Looking like another sell out on Friday. Hopefully can get a first win of the season. Really need to be picking up points at home against the likes of Athlone etc

Mazzy Star

If that's true about last night shameful behaviour.

Hopefully the perpetrators will get a life time ban and in some trouble with the law.

I thought we had long left that sort of ignorance behind.

barryribs

Kerry FC 0 - 1 Athlone Town

A wet and windy night in Mounthawk park on Friday, with the wind behind them in the first half Kerry were on top for most of it with Athlone struggling to get out of their own half. Leo Gaxha went close cutting in from the left wing but Kerry struggled to create anything to trouble the Athlone keeper. The size and physicality of Athlone caused problems winning cleared balls and the second half saw Athlone taking control and scoring a late goal from a ball played across the box.

There were some great individual performances, Graham O' Reilly who got the better of his much stronger opponent every time and the Athlone left back will not be looking forward to playing against Nathan Gleeson again. Although we didn't get the result, the performances are definitely more consistent.

Next up is the trip up to Longford town at 7.30 on Friday

cms88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120402067#Comment_120402067

Longford game is in Saturday. Not sure why but they're only playing home games on Saturdays.

barryribs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120408468#Comment_120408468

Thanks, don't know how I got the earlier time right and the day wrong!

barryribs

Longford Town 2 - 0 Kerry FC

Kerry were caught out after ten minutes with a ball in behind drawing two defenders which left the Longford striker one on one with Shane Guthrie and he powered home. Longford couldn't stretch their lead as Kerry got a foot hold in midfield but struggled to create anything meaningful in the final third. The second half saw manager Billy Dennehy make three changes and the impact was almost immediate with the fresh legs taking over in midfield. Kerry kept the pressure up with a good few chances and kept pushing forward for the equaliser, unfortunately this left us open at the back and in the last minute Longford got the goal to put the game to bed.

Last week saw the debut of young Kennedy Amechi who played underage with both Cork and Limerick. The average age of the squad that finished the game 21.5 and I'd say the youngest in the division by some margin. There is still plenty of time for the squad to settle and things will improve and, outside of the Galway game, not much between Kerry and most of these teams.

Next up is Finn Harps in Mounthawk on Friday at 7.45 and there are a handful of tickets left at https://kerryfc.com/tickets/

ejmaztec

Is Kerry ever going to win a match? 😐️

barryribs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120443466#Comment_120443466

Tough going so far, but I don't think many expected any different. The late approval of the license didn't afford them much time to put a squad together.

cms88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120443466#Comment_120443466

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120443466#Comment_120443466

The long trip or Finn Harps, assuming they're traveling down on Friday, could play to Kerrys advantage hopefully.

Mazzy Star

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120443466#Comment_120443466

Down in Tralee for the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.

Was going to try get a ticket for the game Friday night but it's sold out.

Great to see this level of support for the lads despite everything.

Hopefully get a result Friday night. Ciarrai Abu.

barryribs

Kerry FC 1 - 1 Finn Harps

Another sold out crowd at Mounthawk on Friday saw Kerry pick up their second point of the season so far. Manager Billy Dennehy went for more pace and athleticism from the start with Samuel Aladesanusi and Kevin Williams at centre back and Cian Barrett in midfield. A very close first half saw Kerry take the lead with ten minutes to go. Ryan Kelliher took a lovely ball down and broke the lines with a pass inside for Leo Gaxha who pulled it across the box for Sean McGrath to get his first goal for Kerry. The early second half saw a few half chances for both teams but Finn Harps drew level after about 20 minutes. The defense had played brilliantly all night and just switched off for a ball crossed in and there were three Finn Harps players queued up to finish it.

Probably our best performance only punished by a mistake at the back. The encouraging sign is that Billy kept the team on the front foot after both goals and not looking to play for a point or hang on to our lead. In other news, the first Easter camp took place last week and was a great success with the second week starting today and the away and third jerseys are available from the club shop, open 12-2 on Thurs (different hours for easter).

Next up is a tough away trip to pre-season favourites for the title, Waterford on Friday at 7.45

barryribs

Waterford 1 - 0 Kerry FC

With the odds ranging from 33/1 to 40/1, Kerry were very much the underdog for the trip down to Waterford. There has been times this season where we would have been lucky to get a draw and ended up losing, but this was not one of those times. The team were set up to sit back and defend and try to catch Waterford on the break and without some unbelievable saves from Wayne Guthrie in goals, Waterford should have gone in two up at half time. Overall Kerry defended well but poor finishing and decision making by the Waterford front men meant we were still in with a shout. Waterford took the lead with 20 to go, when a clear body check on Jonathan Hanafin was missed by the referee leaving Ronan Coughlan a free header. After this, we grew into the game a little more but couldn't create anything meaningful outside of some long range efforts.

Although the ref missing the foul for the goal was awful, it's hard to argue with the result, given Waterford's dominance and after 10 goals in their last two, most journalists had them picked to win by 3 or 4. Quarter of the season gone now, but Kerry are still very much in touch with the bottom half of the table with plenty to play for.

Next Friday night, unbeaten runaway league leaders Galway come to town fresh off a huge win against Bray. Tickets are on sale at https://kerryfc.com/tickets/

redseat1

From posts here it seems like they get a sell out every home game, or a lot of them anyway.

What is capacity at Mounthawk? I see reference to 1,150. Would they really get that many at home games? That would be seriously impressive stuff.

barryribs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120503235#Comment_120503235

1200 and every game bar the one tonight has sold out

Edit: This is now sold out

redseat1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120503288#Comment_120503288

Oh wow, that's some going. I know crowds in the Premier League have seen a big rise in recent years, but had this idea that crowds in the 1st Division were still measured in hundreds, bar maybe Waterford and a couple of others.

I feel like I must head myself now, am looking at the shirts, they're one of the nicest I've seen in any sport here. You'd get a bit tired of either Kerry GAA gear, or FAI Irish gear.

barryribs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120503322#Comment_120503322

I think the average attendance in the division was only 500 pre-covid and its pushing 1250 now. The changes to within the FAI have certainly done it no harm and it's been really great to see local businesses of all sizes supporting the team too.

It's definitely worth going along, even if you are just curious. It's a good friendly atmosphere there and it's well organised (bar exiting afterwards).

Bailey43

Commentator said it was 995 attendance last night how was that a sell out.Are the kerry supporters getting sick of losing or just losing interest at this early stage.

cms88

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120506615#Comment_120506615

People could have bought tickets and then weren't able to attend. Also season tickets would be included and they might not have been there.

barryribs

Kerry FC 1 - 4 Galway United

Galway added their 10th win in a row Friday but it wasn't an easy for the champions in waiting. One change from the team that started against Waterford saw Kerry adopt a more positive approach to the game and the difference in approach was immediate. Kerry were the sharper, hungrier team and wasted no time getting stuck into the physically bigger Galway side and stopped them from getting any rhyhtm into their play. Halfway through Leo Gaxha put Sean McGrath through who forced a very good save from the Galway keeper. The breakthrough came on the brink of half time where a quick free kick near the corner flag was crossed in by Gaxha for Ryan Kelliher to head home. The lead didn't last very long with Galway leveling from a header over the out-rushing Wayne Guthrie and Galway moved up a gear in the second half. Taking advantage of a misplaced pass, Galway took the lead 5 minutes into the second half, added a third from distance ten minutes later and bundled home a fourth with 20 to go.

In what was essentially a free hit, it was good to see the team able to go toe to toe with a full time, professional team even if it was only for half the game. There is now a good run of games where Kerry will fancy taking points and even that first win.

Next weekend holds Treaty away on Friday night and Cobh away on Monday and with the long weekend, I think there should be a good few traveling.

barryribs

Treaty 4 - 0 Kerry FC

Whatever momentum the team had off the back of two credible performances was firmly put to a halt last night. Limerick went one up after ten minutes when a ball over the top was played back inside past three Kerry defenders with the midfielder putting through the Treaty striker to slot home. Kerry were awarded a penalty after 25 minutes but a tame effort was easily saved. Treaty were two up five minutes later after the ball bounced around the box and fell to their striker to tap in. As Kerry began to grow into it, Treaty put any question of the result to bed before half time with a third. Treaty added a fourth with 20 left from a corner and the scoreline doesn't flatter the home team's performance.

Good to see the Treaty goal keeper and steward behind the goal care more about the players welfare than the officials, as they signaled to the referee to stop play while Leo Gaxha appeared unconscious in the build up to Treaty's fourth goal.

There are no positives from last night and another tough away trip on Monday against Cobh Ramblers. Tickets are on sale for Monday's Cobh game and next Friday's home game against Longford town over on https://kerryfc.com/tickets/

barryribs

Cobh Ramblers 4 - 1 Kerry FC

The first trip down to Cobh saw a good crowd of travelling supporters on a perfect evening for a game. A change of personnel saw Trpimir start with Ryan Kelliher in a 4-4-1-1 and Callan Scully made his debut in goal in place of the injured Wayne Guthrie. Sadly it was a baptism of fire for Scully as his kick out was charged down and Kerry were behind with 2 minutes on the clock. A corner not properly cleared lead to their second and Kerry hit the post with an overhead kick from Leo Gaxha on the brink of half time. The third was from another corner where the Cobh player headed home pretty much unchallenged. As Kerry turned the screw, a pinpoint kick out from the Cobh keeper to their winger caught the Kerry defense. Kerry pulled one back after Sean McGrath opened the Cobh defense and squared the ball for Ryan Kelliher to cooly finish into the top corner.

Some good performances, Nathan Gleeson and Matt Keane were both great off the bench, Sean McGrath was constantly looking positive and Rob Vasiu's defensive work was excellent. Unfortunately naivety from set pieces and self inflicted problems cost us at the back again. They say it's the hope that kills you and after Friday's defeat has us essentially rooted to the bottom, this one didn't hurt as much and the fans enjoyed it a lot more than the trip to Limerick

Friday Longford make the trip to Mounthawk park having just inflicted Galway's first loss of the season and tickets are available at https://kerryfc.com/tickets/

cms88

Friday and Monday have been the first two bad results imo. The first few rounds you could give the benefit of the dought as theywere just setting up etc But at this stage they should be used to each other etc Friday was a very bad resuult to be 3-0 at half time and lucky not to be 4-0 down. Some very poor goals to let in.

Longford won't be a pushover on Friday either.