Kingdom gunned down in Wicklow ambush

With two 13-point wins over Wicklow under their belt in the past year, Kerry were shocked by Casey O’Brien’s men in their opening defence of their Christy Ring Cup title at Arklow on Saturday.

John Meyler’s team had a tonic start with a gift of a goal by wing-forward Michael Boyle after just two minutes but found the tight marking, passion and spirit shown by the home side too much to handle.

And their defence took a roasting from Wicklow’s lethal inside strike force, corner-forward Andy O’Brien and full-forward Jonathan ‘Bosco’ O’Neill who caused havoc as they racked up a massive 1-16.