Kerry endured a bruising afternoon at Austin Stack Park as Carlow stormed to a commanding 19-point victory, sealing back-to-back wins in the Joe McDonagh Cup on Sunday.
Carlow, fresh from a 21-point demolition of Down in their opening match, carried their momentum into this encounter, effectively ending the contest by half-time. With the aid of a strong breeze, goals from Conor Kehoe and Paddy Boland propelled the visitors to a commanding 2-15 to 0-7 lead at the break.
Chris Nolan opened the scoring for Carlow in the third minute and the Leinster side raced into a four-point lead before Dylan Moriarty’s free opened Kerry’s account. However, Kerry’s hopes quickly dimmed as Martin Kavanagh’s incisive run set up Kehoe for the first goal. Moments later, Boland struck Carlow’s second, making it 2-9 to 0-2 by the 16th minute.
While Moriarty kept Kerry ticking over from placed balls, points from Kavanagh, Nolan, and Boland kept Carlow firmly in control heading into half-time.
The second half offered little reprieve for the Kingdom. Though Carlow eased off somewhat, they still outscored Kerry, adding a third goal when Chris Nolan netted in the 51st minute. That strike pushed the score to 3-20 to 0-11, snuffing out any faint hopes of a Kerry resurgence.
Luke Crowley and substitute Shane Nolan added some respectability to the Kerry scoreline with three points apiece, while goalkeeper Louis Dee produced fine saves to deny further Carlow goals. Carlow finished the game with 14 men after Martin Kavanagh was shown a second yellow card, but by then the result was long beyond doubt.
Carlow now boast two wins from two matches and will host Kildare in the next round. Kerry, who edged out Kildare by a single point last week, face another tough task away to Laois.
