Cobh Ramblers rule the Kingdom on Kerry's opening night
THY KINGDOM COME:Kerry FC captain Matt Keane leads his team onto the pitch
IT HAD to happen. The first senior association football game in the mecca of GAA being overshadowed by a contentious handball decision.
Trailing 1-0 to a Cobh Ramblers goal pinched just before half-time, it was Kerry’s turn to optimise the stiff breeze sweeping across Slieve Mish.
Leo Gaxha, on as an interval substitute, had forced Lee Steacy into a fingertip save within seconds of his introduction and, on 65 minutes, poked the ball beyond the advancing Cobh goalkeeper.
Sadly for Gaxha and the capacity crowd, Michael McCarthy scampered back to fashion a goal-line clearance but they were enraged by the failure of referee Declan Toland to award a penalty from the resultant corner.
All the green-clad players within Cian Browne's proximity were adamant the ball struck the defender’s arm within a crowded box, yet the Roscommon whistler was unmoved.
That was the period in which Kerry had to pounce. For the team propped up last season’s First Division, star signing Jack Doherty was the difference.
Shane Keegan worked his magic to entice the Waterford native, once bought by Mick McCarthy during his time at Ipswich, and his nifty footwork was integral to both goals.
Three minutes before the break, with Kerry deservedly on course for stalemate, Doherty reclaimed possession from his cleared corner, skipped to the endline before squaring for Tiernan O’Brien to stab home the volley.
It was the first time for silence to punctuate the jovial atmosphere.
Some who regretted the decision to delay their purchase of tickets defied advice of the club by turning up in search of the golden tickets.
Not even the later afternoon showers around Tralee deterred those fortunate enough to be sampling history.
Tickets were scarce, leaving the latecomers stuck in the car park; their back-up option of a stream to accompany the noise abounding activated.
All week, the newly-established Kerry Ultras were making their mark. Start-up entrants to the league, not just the defunct Dublin City, Sporting Fingal and Kildare but even Wexford, struggled to reflect their ambitions by building a support base and Kerry’s first target market are those immersed in the local underage and junior scene.
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. The familiar battling cry of ‘Forza Kerry FC’ donned one of the editions but the run adorning pictures of a pipe-smoking, legendary local seaman explorer Tom Crean gained most notice.
Keeping the theme local is the stated aim of the trailblazers leading the charge.
Mounthawk Park has been a venue to be proud of since its construction in 2008 and the people who kept the show on the road since, John O’Regan and Ger Nagle were recognised for their endeavours with presentations before the momentous tip-off.
O’Regan, of course, is renowned nationally as one of John Delaney’s staunch backers, before and after his 2019 demise, insisting the infrastructure that developed into national league standard wouldn’t have been possible without the ex-FAI chief executive’s influence.
A delegation from the national body’s current hierarchy were present to mark the occasion. Logistics and security were uppermost in their mind, a hot topic in the week of a bewildering report from the Markets Field incident of November, yet they needn’t have worried about the pristine stand collapsing at the league’s latest venue.
Volunteers decked out in colour coordinated bibs - yellow, pink and blue – stuck diligently to their event management plan in ensuring safe access and egress for the mixture of patrons, young and old.
GAA royalty were among them, including double All-Ireland winning captain Declan O’Sullivan and David Clifford, and the collegiate sense was apparent in the soundbites embracing the addition of soccer to national competition.
Parallels exist. Whereas Jack O’Connor’s title-holders have Kerry group as their main sponsor, Billy Dennehy’s newcomers are backed by the local airport.
On first inspection of the jersey, the classic gold element associated with the Sam Maguire conquerors is absent until players turn around to show their number. Familiar components bestride the codes.
So too does the participants’ origins. 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. 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.
Matt Keane, Sean Kennedy and Seán McGrath had all lined out for other Munster clubs in recent season, with the latter facing his former club.
That trio provided a solid spine to the side but perhaps the shrewdest of Dennehy’s 29 captures was in goal. 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. “Soccer was always my first love,” he stressed pre-match.
Twice in the first-half, he displayed his reflexes to thwart Doherty – the second batting away a ferocious drive as the pressure grew.
Dennehy, having assembled a team from scratch and with limited pre-season outings, hatched a gameplan to hit their visitors on the counter and, in Trpimir Vrljicak, they had a targetman for the outball. They didn’t fashion a goal but the Croatian will be remembered for winning the club’s first corner on 29 minutes.
Still, impetuous antics incurred a booking that resulted in his withdrawal at half-time, offering Gaxha the floor to rouse the natives.
That he did with aplomb; his instinctiveness to run at back-peddling defenders a feature Dennehy will call upon in the weeks ahead.
One down and 35 games to go, the substance of this date extended beyond the result.
All concerned will have learnt loads but equally so will the Kerry public about its county’s worthy place in the professional ranks of Irish football.
Cursing the absence of VAR will soon dissipate.
W Guthrie; K Williams, S Guthrie, K Spillane; G O’Reilly, S McGrath (R Kelliher 46), M Keane, S Kennedy (N Gleeson 57), S O’Connell; R Teahan (K Amechi 79), T Vrljicak (L Gaxha 46).
L Steacy; M McCarthy, B Frahill, C Lyons, C Browne; D Holland (Pierce Phillips 63), J Abbott; J Doherty (D Bosnjak 84), L Desmond, T O’Brien (J Eguaaibor 70); W Waweru (J Hegarty 70).
Declan Toland (Roscommon).
1200.
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