Cork City (H)

[culloty82]

So, the biggest home match in the club's brief history is now less than 48 hours away, and with the game sold out since last night, a raucous atmosphere can surely be expected at Mounthawk Park! In many ways, the match might be considered somewhat of a free hit, in that Cork appear to have hit their stride now, after beginning the season with a tendency to draw away from home, and even if Kerry do improve their form from recent games, they'll be pushed to the pin of their collars just to secure a draw on Friday. That said, a return to the defensive efficiency shown during the unbeaten run would be half the battle, and Jack Kavanagh must be in contention for a place in the starting eleven now that he has recovered from injury again. Valeri Dolia came on during the U20 match last weekend, and would be an option to freshen the approach during the second half, given against both Athlone and Bray we appeared to run out of ideas after conceding. One imagines the strategy will be to pack midfield and defence, while breaking on the counter, and while it may well fall short, let's hope the performance wins over enough of the home fans to ensure bumper crowds into the summer.

[kingdomkerry]

Problem for Jack Kavanagh is Sean O'Connell has been very good this season.

Good to have Dolia as an out wide option along with Daniel, Kennedy and Nathan.

Talk of Leo coming back on loan but I think we need a striker.

[listowelceltic]

Hopefully all the issues off the pitch are put aside for 90 minutes and everyone is behind the team.
Kerry were overrun in midfield in the first half in Turners Cross so vital we get a foothold there early.
I'm going for an optimistic 1 1 draw.

[Zico]

Friday is the big occasion this weekend, but Monday versus Longford is the bigger game for Kerry. I wonder what the management will do - go all out against Cork where realistically a terrific energy sapping effort might yield a draw at best or hold back and go for the 3 points with your best team against Longford. 2 defeats this weekend would put a very negative spin on the great start..

[legendz]

The games against Cork are a free hit. It's a pity it's coming off the back of two poor results. A wide gap has opened up to the playoffs over the last two rounds.
The game against Cork is also a good test ahead of the MSC final and possibly Premier Division opposition later in the year in the FAI cup.
Whatever the result against Cork, need to return to being hard to beat and hopefully go on a winning run to close the gap to the playoffs.

[Zico]

A brave performance but ultimately came up short in terms of quality. No surprise though as it’s a full time professional outfit versus a part time team. Lads should hold their heads high.

Can someone explain to me how the infamous North Terrace can hold 350 people (it doesn’t even cover half the pitch length, as stops short a few metres from press box) but barely 100 (and probably less) are on the north touch line. Apparently it was sold out but there was large gaps tonight and I’d be suprised if more than 80 were there?? Empty seats in the stand too but assume that is a mix of season ticket holders / sponsors not able to attend as well as seats with completely obstructed views that are just not sold for that very reason.