KERRY have a habit of conceding late winners to the Limerick District league in their home patch and the ghost of Jackman Park came back to haunt them last Friday with a 99th minute goal denying them a share of the spoils in a very exciting and entertaining Oscar Traynor Cup tie.

As the game approached the ninth minute of extra time it looked like they had got a very satisfactory 2-2 draw but the late winner now looks as if it has all but ended their hopes of reaching the knock out stages of the Oscar Traynor cup.

On a very wintery evening on the banks of the Shannon the game gave very good value for money with plenty of committed endeavour by both sides and an abundance of goalmouth action.

There was a number of changes from the Kerry team that defeated Cork with Shane Brosnan coming in at centre half for the injured Derek O Connor while David Clifford and Shane Loughlin replaced Brendan O Driscoll and Tommy Farrell at midfield.

Kerry got off to dream start taking the lead after just 6 minutes with Shane Loughlin delivering a great cross to Stephen Hayes and as he approached the box he let fly with a powerful low shot which dangled in the corner of the net.

As the half progressed Limerick began to dominate at midfield but they had a very limited game plan and were just continuously pumping high balls in the Kerry box which were very well dealt with by Kenny Ward and Shane Brosnan.

However Kerry were unable to cope with the influence of Limerick right back John Corbett who was the play maker for the home side with great surges upfield and excellent distribution of the ball.

Just on the half hour mark David Hennessy was called into action and he made a great finger tip save from a Colin Scanlon free kick just outside the box. Minutes later he was again at his very best when the made an acrobatic save to deny Ken McNamara.

Just before the break Kerry had a promising move with Pa Hickey releasing David Clifford down the wing. Spotting the Limerick keeper off his line his effort to chip him failed while not pulling the trigger so fast and getting closer to the goals would have been a better option.

However Kerry were very pleased going in 1-0 at half time but they knew they needed to up their game considerably and start performing better at midfield.

The home side were on the offensive again at the start of the second half and nine minutes in they had squared the game. Working down the left wing Keith Hartnett centred to Colin Scanlon and his shot was superbly blocked by David Hennessy but the ball broke out to Shane Guerin and he made no mistake from close range.

To their credit Kerry responded to this set back very positively and were putting some good constructive passages of football together.

Then Stephen Hayes used his speed to latch onto a loose ball in the Limerick half and combined with Padraig O'Connor who then put him in but his shot was parried by the Limerick goalie Padraig Hicks. However sub Stephen McCarthy was onto the loose ball in a flash and thumped it into the roof of the net.

Unfortunately Kerry's lead was short lived as three minutes later they succumbed to persistent attacking with a Keith Hartnett cross was flicked on in the box and tipped onto the crossbar by David Hennessy. The rebound fell kindly by Shane Guerin and he headed home his second goal of the game to give his side the initiative again.

Then as the game ticked into injury time both sides would be happy enough with a share of the spoils. However for some unknown reason the referee played an unprecedented 9 minutes of injury time and just prior to the sound of the final whistle a hopeful delivery into the crowded Kerry box by Shane Clarke led to a scramble for the ball and Keith Hartnett pounced to drill the ball to the net for a most dramatic winner which sent Kerry reeling and made the journey back to the Kingdom a long and weary journey.

It was a heartbreaking way to lose a game for a Kerry side that deserved a draw for the very spirited performance they turned in.

While Kerry may feel aggrieved at the lengthy period of injury time the referee Robbie Roe handled the game very well and if the shoe had been on the other foot and Kerry won in the 99th minute they would not be complaining.

KERRY DL: David Hennessy, Stephen Conway, Shane Brosnan, Kenny Ward, Padraig O'Connor, Shane Loughlin, Timmy Lynch, Pa Hickey, David Clifford, Geratus Poketurus, Stephen Hayes. Subs:

Stephen McCarthy for David Clifford, Brendan Smyth for Stepjhen Hayes.

LIMERICK DL: Padraig Hicks, John Corbett, Pat McGarry, Thomas Clarke, Thomas Daly, David Dunphy, Colin Scanlon, Ken McNamara, Shane Clarke, Keith Hartnett, Shane Guerin. Subs: Adrian Fitzsimons for Ken McNamara, Paul Quinn for Colin Scanlon.

REFEREE: Robbie Roe

- at Jackman Park, Limerick