SSE Airtricity U17 League 2017 , Game 1 , Galway United 4-0 Kerry

Saturday 18th March 2017
Galway United  4-0  Kerry .
Kerry went down in Galway in their opening fixture of the SSE Airtricity U17 League. Although the result isnt what Kerry were hoping for , their were still plenty of positives to take from their performance. Kerry will next face Waterford at Mounthawk Park on Sunday April 2nd .

After match commemts ; Extract taken from theleagueofireland.com
Manager Darren Aherne, while disappointed with the scoreline felt his side performed well, “Overall I am disappointed to be beaten 4-0, but again it just shows myself and the players the harshness of this standard of football, and how it will develop a much better standard of footballer for our national league.”
“The score line suggests that we were poor but I don’t feel that’s a fair reflection of how the players performed.”
“The first goal came from a moment of individual excellence from the Galway wide right which you have to commend the young man on.”
“We then conceded 2 goals from identical set pieces which is a point of annoyance for myself and the staff. But again it shows how important set pieces are when you are playing at this standard.”
“We need to address how this happened with match analysis during the week at training and look to improve in this area.”
“However I feel that this is an area that needs a lot of work from the coaches that work with these players in the various schoolboy leagues around the country. We also had 6 players making their debut at this level, a fact I was very happy with.”
On the expectations for the year ahead, Aherne said, “Myself, the staff and the players have already set our own goals for the coming season.”
“For myself the main area would be to see an improvement in the players ability to play at this level of football. It’s our second season and we should see a level of adjustment in the players.”
“I have already seen a different approach from the players that played last season, they now want to achieve something rather than being happy just participating.”
“Locally I can see that the younger players around Kerry are now planning on playing for this team. It has become part of the player pathway for young soccer players in Kerry which is a great thing and why this league was started.”
Aherne had special mention for centre-back James Rusk who he felt was excellent for his first game at this level. Also right-back John Hayes, and left-back John Ward who are all U-16’s, while Eoin Clifford showed great leadership in midfield when it was needed most.