Blues Ace Puts Team Firmly First

Willie John Kiely talks to Brendan White

(first published in the April 2011 Cork City match programme)

WJK nets the winner against Finn Harps (pic: Ian Clancy)

Last season saw him finish League top scorer with an impressive 18-goal haul from 23 starts, adding three Cup goals to take his total to 21 for the year. This season Willie John Kiely has set himself a similar target but is adamant that the goals of the squad are more important than any personal target he may have.
“Everyone will have their own goals”, Kiely said. “Of course I have a goal but as long as the team gets their goals then that’s all that is important. If we all do our jobs right then we’ll succeed with our aims. It’s more important that Waterford United get their goals, not just me.”

Kiely missed the League game against Monaghan United and the Newbridge Town friendly after the passing of his father but, having made a scoring return against Finn Harps, he is delighted to be back playing again.
“Obviously I missed the two matches, Monaghan and Newbridge, but it was good to get back. It was nice to score but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter who gets the goals. I’m just glad to be back playing again together with the lads so I can start enjoying it again.”

Kiely says that the spirit in the squad is good and the players believe they have the quality to go one better this season and make it to the Premier Division.
“The belief is here, definitely. Every match and every training session we’re getting the enjoyment out of it. There would be no point in going out if we didn’t believe we could win. We believe we’ve got the players here to win the League.”
“We went so close last season. We had a good end to the season, with a few wins toward the end but it just didn’t go our way. We lost to Monaghan four times last season and it really cost us. Everyone at the club was gutted.”

Kiely was quick to sign on for the 2011 season in November before signing an extension to take him to the end of 2012. With the striker staying put, many players have come and gone, but he feels that the team have a little more experience this time around.
“I was happy to sign because I’m well settled here now. I enjoy my football at Waterford United. I was glad to get it out of the way and just concentrate on the footballing side of it.”
“It’s pretty much a new team here now. We’ve had two wins, a draw and a defeat so I wouldn’t say we’ve had a bad start but we could have done better. People just need to give the team some time to settle. It’s a very long season and I think we have a bit more experience this season as quite a few of us have now played together for a few seasons, so we won’t panic too early.”

Ten players have departed the Blues squad since last season, but Kiely believes that the eight new players who have come in are more than capable of matching last year’s side in the new system being employed this season by manager Stephen Henderson.
“It’s hard to compare this team with last season’s team. We have found different players for the different system we’re playing this season. The players suit this system. We lost a lot of good players from last season but we’ve brought in some great new players. Only time will tell which way it goes. It’s a very difficult League though and it’s just as competitive, if not more, than the Premier Division. There is up to six teams that could potentially be hoping to get promoted this season.”

The arrival of Cork City to the RSC tonight is a game Kiely is looking forward to, but with a strange feeling as he faces a close friend on the opposing side.
“It’s a big game, Munster Derbys always are, and Cork have a good team this season. Myself and Vinny are good friends so it will be strange to see him on the opposing team, but If our lads all do our own jobs on the pitch then we should be okay.”