It was an hour into the FAI Cup quarter-final at Mounthawk Park on September 12th, when an Owen Elding hat-trick appeared to have ruined Kerry FC’s third season in existence.

After all the excitement, all the hope ahead of kick-off, it was Kerry 0 Sligo Rovers 3. Nothing to see here.

“There was an All-Ireland final feel around Tralee in the build-up,” says Billy Dennehy, the club’s co-founder and chief executive. “Flags and buntings all over the main street.

“Not so long ago you were not allowed to play soccer in certain schools in Kerry. Now the community was rallying around a team full of local players. We could’ve sold five times the amount of tickets.”

Elding’s goals muted the 1,150 attendance.

“It felt like a disappointing end to an exciting week,” continues Dennehy. “Then Colin Healy made a few subs that changed the momentum of the game.”

On came two local lads, Cian Brosnan and Daniel Okwute, with Brosnan’s second goal in the 92nd-minute forcing extra-time.

“For 60 minutes Sligo toyed with us,” says local journalist Murt Murphy. “But at three-all they were shot.”

[ Colin Healy appointed new manager of Kerry FCOpens in new window ]

Manager Colin Healy during a Kerry FC media conference ahead of the men's FAI Cup semi-final. Photograph: Brendan Moran/ Sportsfile

Seconds before a penalty shoot-out, Okwute’s volley set Mounthawk ablaze.

“I’ve been around the game a long time and I’d never experienced anything like it,” says