DOWN’S young hurlers were totally overpowered by a smooth Kerry outfit at Navan on Saturday afternoon.
Ronan Sheehan’s side seemed overawed from the outset and paid the penalty as a well-drilled Kerry side stormed into a 1-4 to 0-0 lead.
Donal O’Sullivan and Michael Slattery scored 2-5 and 0-8 respectively as Kerry completed a three-in-a-row of Richie McElligott Cups with an emphatic victory. Barry O’Mahony added 1-2 as the Kingdom eased to victory.
O’Sullivan scored 1-1 in the opening minutes to help Kerry take a 1-4 to 0-0 lead inside the first 10 minutes.
However, Down responded well and took four of the next five points, including two from Tim Prenter, before O’Sullivan netted his second goal.
Kerry continued to ram home their superiority and O’Mahony scored his side’s third goal to leave his side with a 3-13 to 0-8 interval lead.
The last score of the half came from Down full forward Ronan Blair when he showed tremendous skill to first-time flick a long delivery over his own head and the Kerry bar while running at full tilt away from the posts.
Kerry eased off the gas in the second half, but they still clipped over points at a nice rate, with four in a row in as many minutes midway through the half, emphasising their continued supremacy.
Despite the best efforts of Blair, who finished with 0-7 (0-5 from frees) to his credit, Down couldn’t close the gap in the second half as Kerry cruised home.
Kerry: A O’Sullivan, L Twomey, T Brick, B McAuliffe, G Fennessy, E Murphy (0-1), C O’Keeffe, D Hunt, D Goggin (0-2), M Lenihan (0-1), B O’Mahony (1-2), G Dooley, D O’Sullivan (2-5, 1f), M Slattery (0-8, 7f), S McElligott (0-2). Subs: D O’Donoghue for McElligott, E Shanahan for McAuliffe, S Sheehan for Hunt, J McKenna for O’Mahony, S O’Halloran (0-1) for Slattery.
Down: C McAloran, M McKey, T Murray, A Dorrian, C Watson, R McCrickard, N McFarlane, N Fitzsimmons, P Savage, J Hanrahan, C McCrickard (0-1), T Prenter (0-2), R Costello (0-1), R Blair (0-7, 5f), S Martin (0-1). Subs: P Davidson for Hanrahan, C Coulter for MacFarlane, C Smyth for McKey, P Doran for Martin, S Campbell for Smyth.
Kerry 3-22
Down 0-12
ALL-IRELAND U-20 B FINAL