Déise battlers give Kerry wake-up call

THE expected annihilation never materialised as Kerry struggled alarmingly to cope with Waterford’s vibrant challenge in the first round of the Bank of Ireland Munster SFC at Fitzgerald Stadium, Killarney, yesterday.

Indeed at one stage a shock looked on the cards. Kerry went 26 minutes without scoring, while Waterford missed a penalty and numerous chances from both play and frees when just two points separated the sides in the second-half.

Those misses stymied Waterford’s great effort to provide the biblical ending to this David and Goliath confrontation, and, left off the hook, unimpressive Kerry finally killed off their opponents with a flurry of late scores.