DESPITE a timely Dan O’Shea goal early in the second half, Currow came up far too short in their big Kerry County Senior Football Championship opener against St Michaels/Foilmore on Saturday night.
Even with home advantage and with Seamus Scanlon bossing midfield, they couldn’t keep pace with the south Kerry side who pulled away in the closing stages and, in truth, could and should have won by more.
Currow were first on the scoreboard through a Dan O’Shea point after four minutes and Mike McCarthy doubled their lead after seven minutes.
Scanlon was in splendid form, winning more than his fair share of possession, and he linked well with Ian Somers but they struggled to turn possession into scores.
Points from Bernard Kelly (two), Brian Smith and Padraig King kept Foilmore right in it but it was Currow that led 0-6 to 0-5 at the break, courtesy of minors from John O’Connor, Seamus Brosnan and Dan O’Shea.
When Dan O’Shea goaled soon after the resumption it looked good for Currow but their game-plan went wrong and, amazingly, they failed to find the target for the rest of the encounter.
St Michaels/Foilmore, meanwhile, made the most of the possession that came their way and points from Bernard Kelly, Damien Kelly, Padraig King and Ronan O’ Connor gave them a 0-11 to1-6 win.
In Killarney, East Kerry caused a major upset when they consigned local rivals Killarney Legion to the losers’ round on Saturday night.
Mike Stam O’Donoghue was the main difference between the sides and he single-handedly tore through the Legion rearguard on several occasions to register the crucial scores on his side’s way to a three-point win.
