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Shane Nolan (on ground) celebrates scoring Kerry’s second goal of the day with teammates Jack Goulding and John Egan. Photo by Dermot Crean
KERRY won their first Leinster Championship game in style this afternoon by 2-19 to 0-17 at Austin Stack Park, as the Carlow men’s challenge faded in the second half.
But they didn’t have it all their own way early on as they only led by two points at half-time (1-6 to 0-7) and Carlow should have been a lot closer only for hitting 13 wides in the period.
Their poor shooting proved costly and Kerry were rampant in the second half – Shane Nolan used soccer skills to side foot the sliotar home on 42 minutes to leave them cruising.
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John Egan wins a free after having his shirt tugged by Carlow’s Alan Corcoran. Photo by Dermot Crean
Earlier John Egan had scored a goal on the 13th minute to put Kerry three points up and they never relinquished the lead from that moment, despite Carlow coming back and dominating possession for a time, but couldn’t translate it into enough scores.
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Michael O’Leary rises for the sliotar during the match against Carlow. Photo by Dermot Crean
Kerry came out with all guns blazing in the second-half and when Shane Nolan scored that goal it was all over. Kerry had great performances all over the field, with their defence outstanding in the second half, Egan was dangerous as ever, while young guns Jack Goulding and Jordan Conway – who came on in the second half – also shone.
Jack Goulding strikes for the posts during the first half. Photo by Dermot Crean
Westmeath are next at the same venue next Saturday at 3pm, so let’s hope the Kerry public come out and support this skilful and hard-working team again. Scroll down for more action photos…
John Egan turns his marker before scoring Kerry’s first goal against Carlow. Photo by Dermot Crean
A scramble for possession. Photo by Dermot Crean
Shane Nolan strikes in an attempt to split the posts. Photo by Dermot Crean
Jack Goulding about to strike. Photo by Dermot Crean
Shane Nolan side foots the ball into the net for Kerry’s second goal. Photo by Dermot Crean
High fielding action from the game. Photo by Dermot Crean
