A chastening start but Kerry and Mayo can recover

The difference between Kerry and Mayo’s defeats this past weekend was three points but let there be no equivocation that both were tanked.

For Kerry, Saturday evening’s six-point loss to Dublin was their third biggest defeat on Division 1 opening day since 2005 when Cork taught the then defending All-Ireland champions a lesson to the tune of seven points. Mayo humbled them by the same margin in Killarney last year.

But for David Moran’s late free, Saturday may well have matched it but instead it is now ranked alongside that infamous day in Castlebar three years ago when Kerry didn’t trouble the scoreboard in the second half.