Kerry prospects of reaching the knock out stages of the Umbro Youths Interleague Cup are now virtually gone after going down 2-1 to the Limerick District League at Mounthawk Park on Sunday.

This game was to be played at Jackman Park in Limerick on Friday night but the pitch was unplayable so Limerick had to forfeit home venue and play the game in Tralee.

This was a game that Kerry rarely got to grips with as they lacked fluency in their play and gave away possession far to cheaply especially in the first half. Consequently the visitors had the upper hand but still were not carving out too many scoring chances.

Limerick went close early on when Paul Doona found Jake Mulcahy in the box but his header was only inches away. Then goalkeeper Shane Murphy came to Kerry's rescue making an excellent stop from Derek O'Hanlon.

In the 16th minute he was called into action again when a David Conway effort seemed to be heading for the net but with an acrobatic dive he managed to get finger tips to the ball and knock it onto the post where it was cleared to safety by Sean Reilly. However there was nothing he could do in the 27th minute when David Conway released Evan O'Neill who scored from close range.

This was a wake up call for Kerry and they went close to equalising when a Brendan Falvey corner found Alan O'Shea and his glancing header was only a whisker away. Sean Brosnan was brought on just before half time and he went on to have a huge influence in the game.

To their credit Kerry began to show much more cohesivness in the second half and began to edge the midfield exchanges.

Just past the hour mark the game was all square when an excellently flighted corner kick by Chris Brady found Chris Davies unmarked at the far post and he headed powerfully to the net to set up an exciting final 15 minutes.

The woodwork denied Kerry twice firstly Sean Brosnan found Fergal Moynihan and his shot clipped the top of the crossbar.

Minutes later Brendan Falvey corner kick evaded everyone in the box and with the Limerick keeper beaten the ball came back of the crossbar and was cleared to safety.

Subs Bill Mullins, Declan Bennet combined to put Sean Brosnan free and his powerful shot was just wide of the target.

Then just as a draw looked on the cards Limerick hit the sucker punch in the 88th minute when a free by Lee O'Meara near the sideline was drilled low into the crowded Kerry goalmouth and David Cooper got a touch that left Kerry custodian Shane Murphy stranded.

While mathematically Kerry could still make the knockout stages it is a very outside chance as now they must go to Cork and win and that is very unlikely as the Leesiders have already defeated Limerick 3-0.

Kerry could have no excuses on the day as the better team won the game. However, referee Brian Healy had a poor day at the office as he was far too lenient and left dangerous tackles go unpunished.

KERRY: Shane Murphy, David O'Sullivan, Sean Reilly, Chris Brady, Gary O'Connor, Graham O'Leary, Fergal Maunsell, Chris Davies, Brendan Falvey, Alan O'Shea, Steve Devane. Subs: Declan Bennett for Falvey, Sean Brosnan for O'Shea, Bill Mullins for Maunsell.

LIMERICK: Robert Egan, Lee O'Meara, Eddie O'Donovan, David Cooper, Jake Mulcahy, Richie Bourke, David Conway, Gary O'Connor, Evan O'Neill, Derek O'Hanlon, Paul Doona. Subs: David Corbett for O'Hanlon, Diarmuid Fitzgerald for O'Neill.

REFEREE: Brian Healy

- Mike Rice at Mounthawk Park, Tralee