Kerry FC

League of Ireland return with City back in the top flight and Cobh travelling down to meet new club Kerry FC in Tralee.

The Connacht side (6/4) top the table after two wins, with Armagh (8/11) behind them in second on three points. Mayo are next in the betting at 4/1. They have drawn their opening two games — being reeled in when five points ahead in Armagh the last day. MAYO and Kerry clash in the standout game of this weekend’s Allianz Football League Divison One action. Man United, five points behind, are 20/1. They are lucky that the Bavarians look to be at their lowest ebb in a few years.

Goals from Tiernan O'Brien and Jack Doherty spoil Kerry's League of Ireland debut.

Dennehy and his backers, Brian Ainscough and Steven Conway, have chimed in their view that a senior club constituted the final link to pathways for Kerry players and that was reflected in the composition of his starting team. Wayne Guthrie, a local hero with Austin Stacks, was a commanding presence amidst a hail of first-half attacks by the Rams and his talents, albeit probably in demand, won’t be departing the Kingdom. Only Kalen Spillane (Cork) and Graham O’Reilly (Wexford) were from beyond the county border, with the remainder a collection of returnees, graduates from their underage system of recruits from the thriving junior circuit in the area. A delegation from the national body’s current hierarchy were present to mark the occasion. Creating awareness beyond that hardcore comes in different guises, some methods more expensive than others, and the attachment of stickers to lampposts around Tralee was a novel idea. That was the period in which Kerry had to pounce.

On a night of memorable firsts the only disappointment was that Kerry FC came off second best on the scoreboard. No matter. Cobh Ramblers scored the game's ...

It was a half time lead that was no more than the visitors deserved, but there was enough in that opening 45 for Dennehy, his players and the home support to be geed up by. Growing up just a kick of a ball from Mounthawk Park it was an emotionally charged night for the local lad who has done great things in the game. Just after the hour mark Gaxha lifted the ball over and beyond the advancing Steacy, and in one of those slow-motion moments the ball headed for the goal line only for Cobh defender Michael McCarthy to materialise like a superhero and clear the danger. In the 69th minute Guthrie did brilliantly to push Doherty’s clever flick just wide of the post, but two minutes later the goalkeeper was sold short by a sloppy Kalen Spillane back-pass, forcing Guthrie into an unintentional handball just out the area. All that was missing was the first win. Wayne Guthrie was certainly the busier of the two goalkeepers, the former Austin Stacks no.1 making a few smart saves as Ramblers left no one in any doubt as to which team has been on the road the longer. The second in-swinger came to nought, but after a nervous opening fifteen minutes from the League’s newcomers, Dennehy’s team was up and running. Cobh Ramblers scored the game’s two goals and headed south with the three league points, but in every other facet of a historic night the home team were the clear winners. Forget about the scoreboard for a moment: as opening nights go, Kerry FC and all who sail in her can take a bow. On a night of memorable firsts the only disappointment was that Kerry FC came off second best on the scoreboard. Kitted out in green and gold, the home side, understandably, displayed some early nerves but they grew in confidence as the game went on. Truth is, the occasion will long outlive the result as League of Ireland soccer made its debut in a county much more renowned for Gaelic football than the garrison game.

Billy Dennehy spent most of Friday not even realising it was his birthday. Caught up in the emotion and practicalities of managing a Kerry team in its first ...

We did seem a bit more fluid in the second half but first half we just didn’t come out of the traps the way we would’ve liked, and we didn’t see those patterns of play the way we did in the second half. Of course it’s hard for me to analyse it at the moment, I need to watch the game back to appreciate that, but overall I did expect a bit more from a few players but that’s not a bad thing. But tonight I think they saw a team that gave real effort and that didn’t throw in the towel when they were a goal down or even two down, and that kept going to the end. But overall I’m very pleased with the second half but the slow start probably cost us a bit.” And then that added bit of pressure of it being in your home town as well probably affected us early in the game more than we would have anticipated, and I think that was probably the reason behind our slow start,” Dennehy said. We’re one-nil down, we’ve a ball cleared off the line, then we’re very unfortunate not to get a penalty, and then if it goes one-all I think we’ve the momentum, we’ve the crowd, obviously we’re playing with a strong breeze as well so that kind of affected the game.