Daly to lead Cork in historic tie

CORK City will be led by the experienced Declan Daly when they create a little bit of history by playing in the first competitive tie at senior level against a selection from the Kerry District League in Tralee tonight.

The match will be played at Mount Hawk (7.30 kick-off). And Cork City manager Pat Dolan took steps designed to avoid a possible upset result in this League Cup tie by guaranteeing the presence of several first team players of genuine substance in his team selection.

Daly will lead a team certain to include Noel Mooney in goal and Stephen Napier in defence.

Said Dolan: “We have been handed a programme of five games in 11 days so I cannot pick the same team as played against Shamrock Rovers on Sunday. It’s just not possible for the same players to play in every match.”

Mooney was a regular first-choice in pre-season games for Cork and the choice between him and Michael Devine for the top spot is very close.

Napier is back after missing most of last season because of a serious injury and Daly will continue to put pressure on first-choice central defenders Dan Murray and Alan Bennett.

For the Kerry team this represents a big step-up in. Secretary of the KDL John O’Regan said: “This is a massive game for us which has excited a lot of interest and received huge publicity.”

The next step for Kerry is a team in the National League. Commonsense suggests they are still some way from that, but there is no denying the rising graph of achievement in the area.

Last season a Kerry selection reached the semi-finals of the U21 National League and lost in Dublin by one goal to Bohemians. Three over-age players were allowed in each team in that competition and the Kerry trio of Tim Lynch (St Brendan’s Park), Maurice O’Rahilly (Tralee Dynamos) and Kieran O’Sullivan (Listowel Celtic) will play against Cork.

Cork are certain to give latest signing Robert Hedderman of Aberdeen a major role in defence alongside Daly. The two Colin O’Briens are likely starters and it will be a surprise if Alan Carey, a regular over the past two

seasons but kept out of the team until now by Neal Horgan, does not start at full-back.

This section of the League Cup includes Cobh Ramblers and a visit to St Colman’s Park is next on the

programme for Kerry. Just now, however, the spotlight is firmly focused on tonight’s big game.