DOWN senior hurlers made a miserable start to their Joe McDonagh Cup campaign as they lost out to Kerry by 12 points in Ballycran on Saturday.
The Ardsmen entered the break with a mere six points, despite chances galore which effectively gave them too much to do to pull a result from the fire.
Kerry made the trip with the intentions to rile the Down players up and it seemed whatever their gameplay was to get underneath the skin of the home side well and truly worked; which was made evident when Daithí Sands received a yellow card for an altercation with the Kingdom’s Patrick Murphy before the contest had even begun.
However, Down will be kicking themselves for the host of wides and chances missed, especially during a first half that saw the wind at their backs.
A shining light for Down was Liatroim club-man Pearse Óg McCrickard, who top scored for his county on the day with seven points – three of which were frees – although his determined effort alone wasn’t going to stop a powerful Kerry outfit.
Down actually notched the first point, through Tim Prenter, but with 14 minutes gone Kerry were 1-4 to 0-1 in front.
Kerry’s goal came from Eoin Ross, although Down momentarily stopped the bleeding when McCrickard pointed.
Despite a reply from Shane Conway, Down finally gathered some momentum with two further points from McCrickard.
A back and forth sequence of scoring continued but Kerry held a six-point lead at half-time.
Substitutes at the interval included Ryan McCusker and the usually stand-out performer Paul Sheehan coming off, in what was a sign of clear frustration from boss Ronan Sheehan.
More of the same was to follow and after 15 minutes of the second half Kerry boasted an 11-point advantage.
More anguish was to follow as Ruairí McCrickard’s penalty was saved by Kerry ‘keeper John B O’Halloran, although McCrickard did make some amends for this when he hit the back of the net from play three minutes later.
However, this would ultimately cause Kerry no issues as they continued to score at will until the final whistle.
Down’s next fixture sees them on the road to Laois, with whispers of retaining Joe McDonagh status already the topic of conversation following a disastrous opener.
Down: S Keith, J McManus, D Mallon, M Fisher, T Murray, M Conlan, N McFarland, B Trainor, L Savage, P Óg McCrickard (0-7, 3f), R McCusker, P Sheehan, T Prenter (0-1), D Sands (0-1), T McGrattan (0-2).
Subs: F Turpin (0-1) for McCusker (h-t), R McCrickard (1-0) for Sheehan (h-t), J Doran (0-2) for Trainor (45), O Mac Manus for Prenter (51).
Yellow cards: D Sands (0 - before throw-in), T Murray (6), T McGrattan (28).
Kerry: J B O’Halloran, K O’Connor, E Leen (0-1), E Murphy, F Mackessy (0-2), C Trent (0-1), D Shanahan (0-2), C Walsh, E Ross (1-3), P O’Connor; G Dooley (0-1), M Leane (0-1), S Conway (0-8, 4f, 1 sideline), J Conway, B Barrett (0-1).
Subs: N Mulcahy (0-2) for Dooley (43), D Goggin (0-3) for Barrett (47), P Lucid (0-1) for J Conway (57), S Weir for O’Connor (65), T Doyle for Ross (70).
Yellow card: E Murphy (61)
Referee: P Murphy (Carlow)