David Moriarty reports on Kerry FC’s game away to Treaty United on Friday evening…

TREATY UNITED 1-1 KERRY FC

Kerry FC made their second and last trip to Limerick for the 2024 season as they took on Treaty United in the Markets Field on Friday evening.

Both sides came into the game with defeats as Kerry FC lost 1-0 to UCD AFC last Friday in Tralee, whereas Treaty United lost away to Bray Wanderers in the Carlisle Grounds in what was nothing short of a 5-0 thumping.

Treaty United sit ten points clear of Kerry FC in eighth and have not won a game in the league since the tenth of August away to Longford Town.

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Kerry FC have not been on the winning side in the league since beating Longford Town on the 13th of June making Kerry the more eager of the two to pick up three points in Limerick.

Kerry met a couple of familiar faces in the Markets Field when former players Steven Healy and Trpimir Vrljicak were both in the starting eleven to face the Kingdom. A few friendly words were exchanged beforehand between the players but things remained very professional throughout the evening’s proceedings.

Kerry started on the front foot with Valerii Dolia having a shot on goal inside the opening two minutes.

He took the ball at his feet by some distance and let fly just outside the area. The effort was on target, but Corey Chambers saved it well.\

Treaty replied five minutes later with a chance of their own when a floated free kick was put into the danger area and got as far as Ben O’Riordan who could not get enough on it and it was eventually brought in comfortably by Antonio Tuta.

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Kerry FC dominated the possession from there on in for the remainder of the first half. Valerii Dolia was amongst the action again winning a free kick outside the area.

He decided to take on the responsibility himself and although he struck the ball with great power, it went straight into the arms of Chambers.

Three minutes later Sean McGrath had the ball in the back of the net but was rightfully ruled out for offside.

Ronan Teahan was the next Kerry FC man to have a shot on goal as he made a great run down the left wing beating two before shooting on goal but once again Chambers was there to keep away any danger.

Lee Devitt had Treaty United’s first real effort on goal since the opening chance in the seventh minute but it went high and wide over Antonio Tuta’s crossbar.

Trpimir Vrljicak had a great effort in the last minute of the half go slightly over the crossbar and let the Kerry FC boys breathe a huge sigh of relief that their former teammate didn’t put Treaty United ahead on the stroke of half time.

Four minutes after the restart it was Daniel Okwute this time trying his luck at getting past Corey Chambers. He was at a tight angle on the right-hand side and took the shot on with great precision and drove along the ground but Chambers got down well again to pull off another great save.

In the fifty-eighth minute, Kerry FC finally got what their performance deserved and that was the opening goal of the game through Sean McGrath. Sean took the ball from the halfway line and drove with it down the left-hand side.

He beat one, then two before sticking the ball into the roof of the net giving the away side the lead with just over half an hour left on the clock.

Just three minutes after taking the lead, Kerry FC nearly doubled their advantage when Valerii Dolia struck the crossbar from eight yards out at a tough angle. Kerry FC started playing with great confidence once going a goal up and it was just what they needed to get going.

Between the seventy-eighth and eighty-first minute, Antonio Tuta made two great saves to deny Sean Costelloe on both occasions from distance and close range and the Croatian keeper was doing his best to keep Kerry FC in the lead in the late stages of the game.

Five minutes were added on but even more was played when there was an unfortunate head collision between two Treaty players in the box.

Treaty had a free kick in the one-hundredth minute of the game and unfortunately for Kerry FC, they equalised through Evan O’Connor.

A scrappy goal which saw the ball just creep over the line in a heartbreaking way for the Kingdom.

The game ended a matter of seconds later with both teams sharing the points. Kerry FC now have to pick themselves up again as they host newly crowned champions Cork City in Mounthawk Park next Friday.

KERRY FC TEAM: 1. ANTONIO TUTA, 24. CIAN BARRETT, 6. ETHAN KOS, 5. ANDY SPAIN (C), 3. SEAN O’CONNELL, 8. RONAN TEAHAN, 7. SEAN MCGRATH (GOAL ‘58), 4. ORAN CROWE, 11. DANIEL OKWUTE, 9. RYAN KELLIHER, 10. VALERII DOLIA.

SUBS: DAIRE FOLEY, SAMUEL ALADESANUSI, VICTOR UDEZE, NATHAN GLEESON, CIAN BROSNAN, KENNEDY AMECHI, FINN BARRETT, TOM HEALY, ROB VASIU

TREATY UNITED TEAM: 1. COREY CHAMBERS, 2. BEN O’RIORDAN, 5. LEE DEVITT, 11. STEPHEN CRISTOPHER, 14. ALEC BYRNE, 23. FIONN DOHERTY, 19. ENDA CURRAN, 25. MARK WALSH (C), 33. TRPIMIR VRLJICAK, 34. STEVEN HEALY, 36. CHRISTOPHER HORGAN.

SUBS: MICHAEL DIKE, OISIN O’REILLY, THOMAS CONSIDINE, ADAM O’HALLORAN, DAVID TARMEY, EVAN O’CONNOR (GOAL ‘90), RICHKOV BOEVI, ROBBIE LYNCH, SEAN COSTELLOE

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