Mourne no longer a soft touch

Coming out of Páirc Esler on the afternoon of February 28 2016, Kerry felt let down when they should have been chuffed.

The 0-22 to 0-6 victory over their Down opponents followed defeats to Dublin and Roscommon and turned out to be the start of a six-match winning stretch for Éamonn Fitzmaurice’s men.

But what the hosts had mustered up in Newry that day was feeble. Kerry officials could scarcely believe this was the same county who troubled them so in championship fare.