Kingdom put a spring in their step

IN order of priority, Kieran Donaghy’s excellence at full-forward, outstanding free-taking from the returning Colm Cooper and a marvellous save from goalkeeper Brendan Kealy just before half-time were the primary factors in Kerry avoiding a three-game losing sequence in Tralee yesterday.

Factor in the cumulative effect of Michael Quirke’s play at midfield, David Moran’s second-half improvement and the introduction of Marc O Sé and others and it accounted for a re-assuring outing in the Allianz NFL for manager Jack O’Connor.

In contrast, Derry manager Damien Cassidy regretted errors in the first-half which he felt gave Kerry ‘an impetus’ and a poor ten-minute spell midway through the second-half.