0 v 1 
Athlone TownVideo
Details
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9 June 2023 | 7:45 pm | LOI Men's First Division | 2023 |
Match Report
A case of Deja vu in Mounthawk Park as Valeri Dolia served as the match winner once again for Athlone Town, as his first half strike gave the Midlanders the points this evening. Dolia scored after 88 minutes back in March, it took 31 minutes this time around, marking his return to the side following a recent suspension. Kerry had their chances but Enda Mingoue was in inspired form. Athlone remain third now in the league table, as they head to the break ahead of Cobh on goal difference, while Kerry will have to wait for Treaty United’s visit in July if they are to end their losing streak on home soil. It was a nervy contest at the start, Athlone spending a lot of time in possession, but Kerry’s backline was doing well to hold out against the visitors, the only early chance of an attack came from an Athlone corner, but Kerry cleared. Togor Silong was doing well in the middle of the park to win back ball and try play it up the field, he made a great tackle and then opted to shoot from range, the deflected effort fell to Ryan Kelliher in the area, he composed himself to shoot low past Enda Minogue, but the flag was up, and the man who scored two in Lissywollen could not add to his tally. Up the other end of the field, Athlone were creating chances but Valeri Dolia shot well wide of the goal, before overhitting a cross minutes later that trickled out for a Kerry goal kick, their best early chance fell to Adam Lennon, a breaking ball played him in but his shot was wide of the far post. Kerry had another big chance before the half hour mark, Ronan Teahan playing a lot more advanced this evening, raced down the left wing, he crossed across the face of goal, Sean McGrath tried to flick it on toward goal but the shot had little power and went into Enda Minogue's hands. Soon after the half hour mark Athlone would take the lead, Kerry defending well from a corner, Rob Vasiu unable to keep the ball in play, Oisin Duffy played the throw in for Aaron Connolly, the ball finding Dolia, who raced into the Kerry box and shot low on his left foot past Aaron O’Sullivan for the lead. Chances were few and far between in the half, Kerry attacked well but Athlone had a strong defence, a further blow for the hosts came just before the break as Sean McGrath had to be forced off with injury just before the break. Town almost had an early chance to double their lead just minutes into the second half, Dolia standing over a close range free kick, he curled it over the wall but was unable to bring the ball back down as it missed the goal. Kerry on the counter almost had Kennedy Amechi through on goal, the young forward raced to gather a Kelliher header in behind, German Fuentes Rodriguez was composed to see the danger and clear the ball away. The home side were playing with confidence, Kelliher almost headed Kennedy Amechi in toward goal but Fuentes Rodriguez did well to hack it away, then after the hour mark Fuentes Rodriguez got enough to stop Amechi heading home a Matt Keane cross. Pressure was on the visitors, a ball in behind saw Amechi clear on goal but he was flagged offside, then Teahan played a ball to kelliher, he turned on a sixpence and shot for the bottom left corner but Mingoue was down well to get a hand to the effort and push it off the post for a corner. Straight after Athlone almost hit Kerry on the counter attack, but Blake Ryan’s run down the left wing came to nothing, as he flashed a ball across the goal, Kerry dealt with the danger, a long range effort from Haji Abdikadir was gathered by O’Sullivan. It was all Kerry late on, trying to cross into the area, but Patrick Hickey, Noah Van Geenen and Rodriguez were all able to deal with the high balls into the area, a flurry of corners were keeping the danger on Athlone, but they did enough to prevent a late equaliser.Athlone survive Kerry scare to take points
Timeline
| 31' | 10. Valerii Dolia | |
| 24. Jonathan Hannafin | 38' | |
| Seán McGrath Kennedy Amechi | 44' | |
| Cian Barrett Sean O'Connell | 46' | |
| 26. Togor Silong | 63' | |
| 65' | Matthew Leal Charles Mutawe | |
| 65' | Valerii Dolia Blake Ryan | |
| 76' | Haji Abdikadir Jack Kavanagh | |
| 76' | Adam Lennon Josh McGlone | |
| 12. Matt Keane | 84' | |
| Jonathan Hannafin Cianan Cooney | 88' | |
| Togor Silong Steven McCarthy | 88' | |
| 88' | Oisin Duffy Donal Curtin |
Past Meetings
|
(Round 14)
2 - 3LOI Men's First Division
Athlone Town Stadium Athlone Town AFC 2-3 Kerry FC |
|
(Round 6)
0 - 1LOI Men's First Division
Mounthawk Park Kerry FC 0-1 Athlone Town AFC |
Ground
| Mounthawk Park |
|---|
| Mounthawk Park, Tralee Rural ED, Tralee, County Kerry, Munster, Ireland |
Diarmuid Kearney
Diarmuid Kearney is a freelance Sports Journalist based in Co Kerry. He has more than 5 years experience covering domestic and international soccer for different media organisations, while also working for local and national print and digital organisations covering GAA.
All over in Tralee as Athlone take a big three points back to the midlands.
Five minutes added time
Matt Keane Kerry's third booking of the evening
Chance on the break for Athlone as Blake Ryan crossed across the race of goal but Kerry could not stop him and the ball flew past O'Sullivan goals after he made a save
ENDA MINOGUE WHAT A SAVE TO DENY KELLIHER
Amechi races in but he is flagged for offside.
Double change for Athlone as Blake Ryan and Charles Mutawe replace Dolia and Leak
Another chance for Kerry as Matt Keane crossed deep it missed Kelliher, but Kennedy's header was blocked down well by a Athlone defender
Silong goes into the book
Kelliher almost heads Kennedy Amechi in toward goal but Fuentes Rodriguez did well to hack it away
Early free kick for Athlone, as Dolia curls it over the crossbar
Change at the break for Kerry as Sean O'Connell replaces Cian Barrett
Half Time in Tralee, once again Dolia grabs the goal that gives Athlone the advantage in Tralee
Athlone shoot from range but O'Sullivan easily gathers
Three minutes added time
Change for Kerry as Sean McGrath picks up a knock and cannot continue, Kennedy Amechi is on the replace him
Jonathan Hannafin picks up tonight's first booking
Against the run of play. Dolia has made it 1-0 to the visitors
Chance for Kerry as Ronan Teahan crosses into the box, Sean McGrath tries to flick it on toward goal but the shot had little power into Minogue's hands
A change of wide men almost has Adam Lennon get the first goal for Athlone, a ball in behind meets him and he shoots wide of the far post
Athlone win back possession and cross on the left wing from Dolia but again it goes wide of the Kerry goal
A first shot for Athlone but it flies well wide from Dolia
Ball in the net for Kerry but the flag is up, Togor Silong shoots but the shot is deflected, falls to Kelliher and he shoots to the net but it will not count
Little action thus far, corner for Athlone
The home side get us underway here
Here come the teams
Late change for Kerry, a slight admin error as Aaron O'Sullivan is back in for Callan Scully
It was an historic night last month, maybe not so much for the visitors as they became the only side to suffer defeat to Kerry when they met in Lissywollen, that began a torrid spell of form for the club, they had beaten Finn Harps to start the month off with a win, but then suffered three defeats and a draw in the resulting four fixtures before narrowly beating Longford on Friday.
With a win over Bray on Monday evening, Athlone surpassed their points haul from last season, currently on 26 points after 18 games, they only managed 24 during last season, with one more win in 14 games less played, they are hoping to keep up a recent winning streak and hold onto their third spot as they bid for promotion.
Athlone make the journey down from the Midlands for their second visit to Mounthawk Park this evening, when the side journeyed down for the first time back in March, they prevailed 1-0 as Valerri Dolia struck late to take all three points, since then they have kept up their push for promotion and are hoping to make it three wins in a row.
Kerry did get the upper hand of the Midlands side when they met last month, Ryan Kelliher netting the winner with less than twenty minutes to go, since then they have picked up one point from a possible 12, with three of those being home games, they shipped 14 goals.
Confidence may be down for Kerry as they were trounced 6-0 by Waterford on Monday, but earned a hard fought draw with Finn Harps, this time last week, they certainly can show plenty of resilience but mistakes have gone punished this season.
Athlone make one change from Monday as goals corer from the last tie here between the two Valerri Dolia makes his return from suspension, as Jamar Campion-Hinds misses out
Kerry make four changes from Monday's heavy 6-0 loss to Waterford, three enforced as Leo Gaxha, Kevin Williams and Nathan Gleeson all miss through suspension while Callan Scully is named ahead of Aaron O'Sullivan in goal
A warm welcome from the Kingdom, the final home game here for a Month, as Kerry FC welcome Athlone Town, hoping to pick up their first home win this season, against the side the beat earlier in Lissywolllen, but did suffer a 1-0 loss here earlier this season.