UL best Kerry in Waterford Crystal Cup

New manager John Meyler watched his Kerry hurlers fall to a 3-15 to 1-15 defeat at the hands of UL this afternoon, with Kilkenny's Matt Ruth grabbing the clinching goal for the Limerick students.

Indeed, UL struck for goals late on in both halves. A green flag from Andrew Quinn bolstered the visitors' half-time lead to 2-9 to 0-7 at Austin Stack Park.

Free-taker Shane Brick provided most of the resistance for a Kerry side that struggled for fitness at times. Brick's sharpshooting had the Kingdom 0-9 to 1-5 ahead as the half-hour mark approached, but the Ger Cunningham-managed students edged back ahead thanks to Seamus Hickey and Quinn.

Hickey and Brick swapped points as the second half resumed and the latter went on to score 0-10 by the finish.

Kerry, to their credit, battled on and neither side were able to dominate in what was a lacklustre encounter at times. Shane Nolan had a shot saved on the line as the hosts pressed for a goal, which duly arrived through Gary O'Brien some minutes later.

A Brick free had the gap closed down to a single point at 2-13 to 1-15, but UL seized control again when Ruth found the net in the closing stages.