‘Emotional week’ for Kerry FC as players rally around team-mate Cian Brosnan after the death of his father

IT says a lot about this Kerry FC group, about these Kerry FC players.

Kevin Williams – key in the buildup – didn’t make it about himself. Seán O’Connell, who turned over Benjamin Lynch and scored the goal, didn’t make it about himself either.

The wider group didn’t even make it about them, their first thought, only thought, was to share it with their colleague, Cian Brosnan. Brosnan’s father, Noel, had passed away last week, you see. The news filtering through while was the squad was in Ballybofey for the game with Finn Harps last week.

The squad rallied around the young Gallowsfield lad, literally so, as when the goal went in he was the focal point of the celebration.

“It’s been a very emotional week,” assistant manager James Sugrue said post-match.

“Look, I’ve had Brossy for the last seven years coaching him. And his father would have grown up down the road from me, so it was an emotional week.

“Like I said to the boys go out and show that emotion tonight on the pitch and they did. They’re a good group of lads, they all stuck by him all week and, obviously, we were hoping he’d come on and get the winner.

“That didn’t happen, but he still played one or two great balls and he was unlucky. Last week was tough. We heard the news up in Finn Harps and it was a tough week, but they stuck together. There’s a good group there. You can see that. They back each other and they’ll keep doing that.”

Brosnan, as Sugrue noted, came off the bench and was very nearly involved in nabbing a last minute winner for the Kingdom. It would have been fitting, of course, had he done so and maybe just about an accurate reflection on how the game had gone, Kerry just about the better side in the round.

Nevertheless the draw was a good result for the Kingdom, even if there was still evident disappointment not to have taken the win.

“Yeah, very disappointed,” Sugrue admitted.

“You can see it when the players came in the heads are down and stuff. To be honest I thought we deserved the three points tonight. We started the second half a bit slow, we should have started a bit more intense, a bit more aggressive, but no I thought on the night we were the better team.

“We’re here to win games, we’re not here to draw games, but at the end of the day we’re in every game. To be honest, on top most of the games we’ve played, but what can you do?”