Wexford (A)

[culloty82]

Friday's hosts remain the only new entrants to the League to have remained a permanent presence (10+ years) after the original First Division cohort, and have brought a significant number of Yellowbellies through to full-time football, so in that regard, Kerry can hope that the short-term pain will ultimately bear fruit. In the immediate term, however, the Ferrycarrig outfit have followed up their 3-0 success over Athlone with a scoreless draw in Ballybofey, so while another shellacking on last week's scale seems unlikely, nor does any form of stalemate seem plausible. One of the biggest decisions Dennehy will have to make concerns his goalkeeper - while Wayne was arguably MOTM against Treaty in Round 3, it's fair to say there were at least two goals he was directly responsible for on Friday, so it may be time to see how Scully can perform.

[legendz]

Ferrycarrig outfit have followed up their 3-0 success over Athlone with a scoreless draw in BallybofeyI'd take a scoreless draw this weekend. They need to get the defence right and earn the right to attack when possible. The pain of last Friday can be beneficial in the long run if they apply the lessons learned.
Galway scoring many was predictable. Friday's game is hard to predict. A shell shocked team wanting to play on the front foot will have to come up with a new approach.

[dansultheman]

I'd take a scoreless draw this weekend. They need to get the defence right and earn the right to attack when possible. The pain of last Friday can be beneficial in the long run if they apply the lessons learned.
Galway scoring many was predictable. Friday's game is hard to predict. A shell shocked team wanting to play on the front foot will have to come up with a new approach.

A new approach is definitely needed on the road and I am sure that with the experience now after two defeats on the road, it has to be all about picking up what we can on the road and make the home games where we pick up the majority of our points this year.

A learning curve for Dennehy and his management team. Hopeful of a much better performance and getting a point on the road this Friday would be a huge moral booster ahead of the following home fixture vs Athlone.

[culloty82]

You'd imagine it'll be back to the Treaty line-up this evening, with Shane in for Samuel, and Quaid returning - whether we're capable of sitting deep and play on the counter is another matter, but that's what happened in practice for most of the second half a fortnight ago.

[legendz]

The team bus is on the road. I hope they have practiced parking the bus!
Tickets on sale for Athlone. There's about 40 seats available.

[culloty82]

And, interestingly, this is the first time I've seen tickets advertised as "available" for the North Terrace and North Touchline, so presumably this is where they're eking out the gradual increases in capacity.

[culloty82]

All change, as Seán O'Connell, Seán McGrath, Kalen Spillane and Ronan Teahan drop out, with Graham O'Reilly, Jonathan Hannafin, Shane Guthrie and Andy Quaid coming in.

[legendz]

First start for Jonathan Hannafin. All the others have started previous games.

[legendz]

Two goals conceded from set pieces. An ongoing problem. Good attacking threat early in the second half. A draw would have been a fair result. Not to be. Still learning and learning.
Referees are determined not to give us a penalty for opposition handballs. It's not Gaelic Football that Kerry FC have signed up for.

[culloty82]

At least we can say that it was definitely the best away performance of the season, so certainly knocking on the door when it comes to teams in the bottom half of the table. Of course, you'd rather be picking up draws before Treaty and Harps start to pull away, but even compared to the Bray game, let alone Galway, it was a big improvement.

[legendz]

An improvement on the Bray game alright. By about the 6th game for a team with a lot of changes, you'd be hopeful of seeing them gelling, let alone a new team. Kerry will need to have at least a win on the board before travelling to Waterford.