Cork face tough test as they take on the Kingdom

Cork ladies footballers head to Tralee on Sunday to take on Kerry in round four of the Lidl Ladies Football League.

The game is due to throw in at 2pm at Austin Stack Park, and the Rebels can travel in confident form after their recent games.

Last weekend, they made the long trip to Armagh, a game delayed by a week due to the weather, and came away with the three points.

Two weeks earlier, they got the better of Galway in round two, and so they head to the Kingdom undefeated in the league so far.

They drew with Kildare in their first outing but quickly learned a lot from that encounter to string two impressive wins together.

Cork will be well aware that this is another step up on Sunday as they take on the defending league champions. They haven’t enjoyed much success against the Kingdom in recent years, and they will be hoping to put that right.

That’s easier said than done, especially with the game being in Kerry.

The Kingdom have a star-packed side and will be looking to the likes of Aoife Dillane, Anna Galvin, Caoimhe Evans, Niamh Ní Chonchúir, Danielle O’Leary, and Siofra O’Shea on Sunday.

They are unlikely to field an understrength team against Cork, so the Rebels will be travelling expecting to feel the full force of Kerry.

But Cork manager Joe Carroll has plenty to be happy about with his side’s performances in the league so far.

Speaking after their win over Armagh, he said: “We were delighted with our performance, especially in the second half when we were two points down, playing against the wind. The pitch was in excellent condition, superb actually, given the weather we’ve been having.

“We weren’t happy with the goal we gave away in the first half, where she waltzed from half-back right down the middle of our defence, but these things happen. We worked a lot harder in the second half.

“Goals at times can come from turnovers, and I think we were fast with what we did with the ball when we got the chances, and we took them. We possibly had another goal chance at the end, but we took our point just to make sure that we had the match won.

“We were one of the favourites to be relegated back to Division Two, but we’ve had good results.

“You could say we haven’t played the big shots yet, like Kerry, Waterford, Dublin. Anything we get out of the league from here on is going to be a plus for us.

“Hopefully, another couple of points will keep us in Division One, which was our target, and we’ll see where it takes us after that.”

Carroll will need big games from the likes of Melissa Duggan, Emma Cleary, Katie Quirke and Abbie O’Mahony to have any chance of beating Kerry. Add in Grace Ní Murchú and Aoife Healy, both of whom impressed in their wins over Galway and Armagh, and Cork can travel in confident form.

They will be underdogs, but there’s nothing pleases this side more than upsetting the odds, and don’t rule it out for them to do it again at Austin Stack Park.

Cork: S Murphy; M Duggan, D Kiniry, S Kelly; A Corcoran, S McGoldrick, R Corkery; A Healy, A O’Mahony; R Leahy, G Ní Mhurchú, E Cleary (capt.); A Ring, K Quirke, Á O’Sullivan.