David Clifford with 1-5 as East Kerry keep St Kieran's at bay

Early goals got much of the work done for East Kerry

David Clifford in East Kerry action

Kerry SFC: East Kerry 2-18 St Kieran’s 1-10 

Exploding from the starting blocks with a brace of goals in the opening quarter, East Kerry kept St Kieran’s at arm’s length thereafter in this Kerry county SFC preliminary round game at a sun-splashed Austin Stack Park in Tralee.

With Adrian Sheehan taking over at the helm from the four-time Bishop Moynihan Cup-winning manager Jerry O’Sullivan and, without the injured Paudie Clifford and Luke Crowley among others, the 2023 champions showed that they still pack a considerable punch.

St Kieran’s, always tough opponents to subdue, simply never recovered from an error-strewn opening 30 minutes, when they kicked eight wides and only managed three points. Their second half improvement was notable, but it was already a lost cause.

After the hard-working and influential Darragh Lyne opened the scoring, East Kerry struck for their opening green flag in the sixth minute, and there was a touch of fortune about it. Kilcummin’s Philip O’Leary appeared to be going for a point but, off balance, his effort dipped into the net.

That was a hammer blow for St Kieran’s, who had pushed the opposition to two points in last year’s competition. They simply couldn’t get going in the early exchanges, although Cathal Brosnan fired just wide with a goal chance in the 13th minute.

That miss would come back to haunt his side just two minutes later when, after great approach work from Lyne and Paul O’Shea, the unselfish full-forward found David Clifford, and his cousin made no mistake with an easy right-foot finish from close range.

By the half-time break, East Kerry were home and dry, ten points to the good (2-7 to 0-3), but, with the words of manager Stephen Wallace undoubtedly ringing in their ears, St Kieran’s were more determined on the resumption, and certainly more accurate in their shooting.

Castleisland Desmonds’ Adam O’Donoghue led the way, finishing with 1-5, including a fantastic two-pointer, and his goal arrived in the 49th minute when, after a superb assist from Adam Barry, the wing-forward managed to drive a low shot just past East Kerry ‘keeper Brian Kelly.

Reducing the deficit to seven points (2-14 to 1-10) was as good as it would get for St Kieran’s, as East Kerry finished the last ten minutes in command with four further points – including minors from substitutes Ryan O’Grady and Matt Keane.

In the absence of his injured sibling, David Clifford, with a tally of 1-5, and O’Shea, dove-tailed together well at times, with the work-rate of Lyne and Paudie O’Leary a significant asset. The likes of Cian Gammell, Ronan Collins and Dan O’Brien were effective further afield.

East Kerry now have a two-week break, with Ruairí Murphy a potential doubt after limping off. St Kieran’s must immediately attempt to bounce back with what amounts to virtually a local derby next weekend against the new North Kerry amalgamation.

Scorers for East Kerry: D Clifford 1-5 (0-1f), P O’Shea 0-6 (0-1f, 1tp), Philip O’Leary 1-1, D Lyne, C Lynch, D O’Brien, R O’Grady, Paudie O’Leary, M Keane 0-1 each.

Scorers for St Kieran’s: A O’Donoghue 1-5 (0-2fs, 1tp), M Reidy, L Brosnan, A Barry(f), J McElligott, S O’Connell 0-1 each.

EAST KERRY: B Kelly (Killarney Legion); N Donohue (Firies), D Brosnan (Gneeveguilla), D Fleming (Killarney Legion); C Lynch (Glenflesk), D O’Brien (Glenflesk), C Gammell (Killarney Legion); R Buckley (Listry), R Collins (Gneeveguilla); R Murphy (Listry), D Lyne (Killarney Legion), Paudie O’Leary (Gneeveguilla); D Clifford (Fossa), P O’Shea (Kilcummin), Philip O’Leary (Kilcummin).

Subs: R O’Grady (Killarney Legion) for Philip O’Leary (40), K O’Sullivan (Fossa) for Brosnan (40), M Keane (Kilcummin) for Murphy, inj (47), D O’Mahoney (Firies) for Lynch (51), S Palmer (Firies) for O’Shea (58).

ST KIERAN’S: S Óg Ó Ciardubháin (Cordal); I Brosnan (Castleisland Desmonds), B Leonard (Castleisland Desmonds), J McElligott (Knocknagoshel); Jamie O’Sullivan (Brosna), L Brosnan (Castleisland Desmonds), Jack O’Sullivan (Brosna); A Breen (Ballymacelligott), S O’Connell (Cordal); N Collins (Ballymacelligott), A Barry (Brosna), A O’Donoghue (Castleisland Desmonds); C Brosnan (Currow), M Reidy (Ballymacelligott), C McElligott (Knocknagoshel).

Subs: K Dennehy (Cordal) for C McElligott (26), S Kelliher (Cordal) for Collins (ht), J Joy (Ballymacelligott) for Breen (49), J McMahon (Currow) for Reidy (53), J Walsh (Knocknagoshel) for Brosnan (57).

Referee: JM Fitzgerald (Abbeydorney).