Doherty on the double as Cork City claim bragging rights in derby with Kerry

SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division: Cork City 2 (Doherty 15, 27) Kerry 0 

An age-old county rivalry was recast in a new arena with a Tipperary man playing the hero as Jack Doherty’s brace gave Cork City the victory in their first-ever meeting with Kerry FC.

The Carrick-on-Suir native found the net 18 times for Cobh Ramblers last season and will hope to exceed that tally for a City side expected to play on the front foot under new boss Tim Clancy.

In front of a bumper 5,507 crowd at Turner’s Cross, he got off to a flying start with a first-half pair in the 15th and 27th minutes, which put the game to bed.

City have endured a disrupted pre-season schedule with only one goal to their name but in Doherty, they have a goal-scorer who can help to compensate for Ruairí Keating’s departure.

The caveat is that bigger challenges will lie between this City rebuild and a Premier Division return. Kerry should show improvement from last season, and it’s to their credit that they kept battling after the double concession, but there is still a chasm to be crossed before they climb the First Division ladder.

There was plenty of renewal on either side. Both had new managers in Clancy and Conor McCarthy; the Kerry boss becoming the youngest-ever gaffer in League history, taking on a mantle previously held by Stephen Kenny.

Both teams went through five starting goalkeepers last year and debuted new netminders for 2024 in Brad Wade and Antonio Tuta. The latter understandably was the busier of the pair.

Departures and injuries meant captain Cian Coleman was the only survivor from last year’s relegation as Clancy endorsed his confidence in City’s academy products.

He handed League debuts to four teenagers in Harry Nevin, Matthew Kiernan,