Kerry earn the right to rub shoulders with hurling giants

Kerry 1-20 Derry 0-12: They perhaps left their best hurling behind them in Newbridge a week earlier but when you’ve also left two Christy Ring Cup finals behind you, winning is all that matters.

So it was that Kerry finally reached the promised land of tier two success — and the considerable reward of Liam MacCarthy Cup hurling next year — without ever truly extending themselves.

In truth, the real final for Kerry came against Kildare when they opened up with some fantastic hurling and soared to a 36-point win, allowing all their frustrations from last year’s final defeat to come flooding out.