Waterford 0-17 Kerry 2-9

By Dan Kearney

A power-packed second half from Waterford propelled them to a two-point victory over Kerry in this first round TG4 Munster Championship encounter at Austin Stack Park, Tralee.

Waterford outscored the hosts by 0-10 to 0-3 in the second period as they used their running power to great effect.

In a repeat of last year’s final, it was Waterford who held the aces after a very entertaining contest where Brid McMaugh struck four points, and KellyAnn Hogan hit 1-5.

Niamh Ní Chonchúir opened the scoring for Kerry, but KellyAnn Hogan replied for the visitors three minutes later.

Kerry struck a brilliant goal in the fifth minute through Rachel Dwyer after some excellent work from the marauding Caoimhe Evans.

Hogan replied with a free for Waterford, but then came Kerry’s second goal in the 10th minute. Anna Galvin played a ball into Leah McMahon, and the speedster was fouled as she crashed the ball off the crossbar. Síofra Ó Shea stepped up and made no mistake from the resulting penalty.

Anna Galvin and Síofra O’Shea added further points, but Eve Power replied for the Déise to make it 2-3 to 0-3 before O’Shea struck a brilliant two-point free for the Kingdom in the 23rd minute.

In a portent for what was to come in the second half, Waterford dominated the last 10 minutes of the game, outscoring Kerry by 0-4 to 0-1 with Hogan from a free and from play, Bríd McMaugh and Emma Murray slotting over, whilst the only Kerry reply came from Siofra O’Shea and Kerry led by 2-6 to 0-7.

Kerry started brightly in the second half with a Caoimhe Evans score, but points from Brid McMaugh and a free from sub Chloe Fennell got Waterford going.

Aoife Dillane got a point back for Kerry when she might have gone for goal, but soon Waterford took over around the middle of the field with McMaugh (2), McGregor, Chloe Fennell (2 frees), KellyAnn Hogan, and Clare Walsh adding scores, and Kerry’s only reply coming from the boot of Leah McMahon.

Waterford kept attacking, and Karen McGrath was brought down for a penalty by Ciara Butler, who was sinbinned, in the 57th minute, which McGregor struck off the butt of the post.

Now down to 14 players, Kerry attacked for all their worth, but the final score of the contest fell to Eve Power to seal a brilliant win for the Déise.

Scorers for Waterford: KA Hogan 0-5 (3f), B McMaugh 0-4, C Fennell 0-3f, E Power 0-2, L McGregor 0-1, C Walsh 0-1, E Murray 0-1.

Kerry: S O’Shea 1-4 (1-0pen), R Dwyer 1-0,  N Ní Chonchúir 0-1, L McMahon 0-1, A Galvin 0-1, A Dillane 0-1, C Evans 0-1.

WATERFORD: K Gardner; C Murray, L Mulcahy, A McGrath; R Browne, R Casey, K McGrath; E Murray, E Power; Á O’Neill, K Hogan, K Murray; M Daly, B McMaugh, L McGregor. Subs: C Fennell for A McGrath HT, C Walsh for M Daly 53, L Ní hArta for R Browne 60.

KERRY: C Butler; R Rahilly, D Kearney, E Lynch; A O’Connell, E Costello, A Dillane; A Galvin, M O’Connell; K Enright, N Ní Chonchúir, C Evans; L McMahon, S O’Shea , R Dwyer. Subs: N Carmody for K Enright 40, J lucey for R Dwyer 49, N Quinn for L McMahon 57, ME Bolger for C Evans 58, E Ní Lasighin for S O’Shea 63.

Referee: Conor McCarthy (Cork).

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