The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Classy Cork burst Kerry U-19s bubble
THE bubble finally burst on Kerry’s great run of form in the SSE Airtricity under -17 League when they went down heavily to Cork City at Mounthawk Park on Sunday.
This was the sternest test Kerry had to undergo so far this season outside of Shamrock Rovers and it was just a bridge too far for them on the day with the Corkonians showing their class with a second half flurry of goals.
Of course Kerry were going into the game on a high after winning their previous three games.
However this was a test of much more formidable nature and while Kerry came out at the losing end of the game they can play much better than they did in this game.
This game was a barometer to access how the team has progressed since the start of the season and it showed that there is still plenty to be done to match sides from the more illustrious clubs.
Kerry done much better than the final scoreline suggests holding their own very well for the majority of the first half.
The visitors went ahead in the 29th minute with Sean McGrath controlling the ball beautifully and slammed his shot to the bottom corner of the net.
They almost doubled their lead just before half time when a Sean McGrath shot took a wicked deflection off a defender but Kerry custodian Dylan Donna was there to make a crucial save and Conor Henderson got the ball to safety.
Kerry went close to equalising early in the second second but a net bound shot by Daniel Okwute was saved by the Cork goalie Adam Cantwell.
Play then moved down the other end with Cantwell delivering a long clearance which was won by Evison Shilaku-Rramoni. His shot on goals was partially blocked but James O Leary was following up and he blasted the ball to the roof of the net from the verge of the box.
Now Kerry were on the ropes and when Sean McGrath scored a third goal for the visitors in the 63rd minute the game was over as a contest.
Kerry still fought hard to try and pull a goal back and Owen Benson went close being denied by a good save by the Cork goalkeeper.
Oran Crowe and Issa Kargbo added two more goals for the visitors to secure a very comfortable win at the end.
While Kerry were brought down to size in this game there was a lot of positives to be taken from the game and there is plenty of optimism for the season ahead.
Despite this defeat Kerry are still second in the table 9 points behind table toppers Shamrock Rovers and three points ahead of Cork City who are in third place.
Kerry have a home game against Carlow/Kilkenny next weekend and this is a game they will be targeting getting maximum points from.
Currently Carlow/Kilkenny have 9 points from 7 games.
KERRY: Dylan Doona, Kian Clancy, Tom Doyle, Conor Henderson, Nathan Gleeson, Colin Walsh, Owen Benson, Daniel Okwute, Ryan Guerin, Robert Vasiu. Subs: Jack Kirby for Gleeson.
CORK City: Adam Cantwell, Alan Nagle, Uniss Kargbo, Sean Cummins, Barry McCarthy, Oran Crowe, James O’Leary, Evison Shilaku-Rraman, Robert Geaney O’Brien, Luke Desmond, Sean McGrath. Subs: Elyas Eshaji for Desmond.
MANAGER DISAPPOINTED Speaking to the press after the game Kerry manager Billy Dennehy said it was a disappointing result for his side.
“Maybe we showed a small bit of complacency in this game and did not begin the game with the type of intensity of previous games. It was another learning curve for us and we have to pick up the pieces and prepare for the next game. We knew Cork would be a tough test but we were ahead of them on the table going into the game and are still ahead of them despite losing this game. It shows that we cannot be carried away with the great results prior to this game and we will have to address the issues that we were not happy about in this game.”