Carlow 3-17
Kerry 1-24
Allianz Hurling Division 2A Round 4
At Netwatch Cullen Park
Carlow went into the weekend unbeaten in both codes, but both teams fell to one point losses. Carlow hurlers suffered their first loss of the league despite scoring a whopping 3-17 in a thriller in Netwatch Cullen. Kerry had led by seven points with less than ten to go but Carlow battled back to draw level .Padraig Boyle slotted a free over as time ran out to give Kerry a one point win.
The game started at a blistering pace and Kerry had scored within the first minute, swiftly followed by another score. Jack Kavanagh got Carlow up and running on two minutes . Martin Kavanagh got his first free of the day and Diarmuid Byrne and John Michael Nolan all blitzed Kerry to get four on the trot for Carlow in a little over three minutes. Kerry then found their feet with five unanswered points which included a point from Pardraig Boyle. Carlow had seen their two point lead turn into a three point deficit and were finding it very hard to get possession in the opposition’s half.
Twelve minutes without a score from Carlow, the ball came to Martin Kavanagh who rattled the back of the Kerry net to draw the sides level once more. Kavanagh converted a free to give Carlow the lead on twenty minutes. Kerry levelled it, Kavanagh put Carlow back in front then Kerry levelled again through Shane Nolan. Kerry edged themselves in front as play was tit-for-tat. David English and John Michael Nolan reclaimed the lead for Carlow but then Kerry stuck in an impressive final eight minutes that Carlow in the end would struggle to bridge. Kerry amassed five points in that time to give them a 0-15 to 1-8 lead at half time.
Martin Kavanagh got Carlow up and running at the start of the second half but Kerry were industrious in their approach and for the first quarter of the second half they wouldn’t let Carlow get too close. Eddie Byrne pointed for Carlow on thirty nine minutes, quickly followed by a Martin Kavanagh free. Michael O’Leary blasted a ball to the back of the Carlow net to quell their momentum. Eddie Byrne responded in dramatic fashion and within a minute of the Kerry goal, Byrne got a goal of his own.
Carlow would then go ten minutes without a score while Kerry picked off four points to give Kerry a commanding six point lead. Sean Murphy pointed for Carlow seconds after being introduced as a substitute. Carlow would then go another ten minutes without a score while this time they kept Kerry confined to only two scores. Sean Murphy then got his second point only for Kerry to cancel it out straight away and reclaim the seven point lead for Kerry.
Carlow burst into life once more, Martin Kavanagh converted another free and then John Michael Nolan got Carlow’s third goal to bring them back to within three points. Eddie Byrne got a point to move Carlow closer and then a monster effort from David English from a placed ball had Carlow believing. Martin Kavanagh got the equaliser as normal time was up but deep into stoppage time Padraig Boyle converted a Kerry free to give the visitors the one point win and deliver a cruel blow to Carlow. Carlow will now have to get a result when they play Westmeath on March 22nd
Carlow Scorers
Martin Kavanagh 1-7 (6fs)
John Michael Nolan 1-2
Eddie Byrne 1-2
Sean Murphy 0-2
David English 0-2
Diarmuid Byrne 0-1
Jack Kavanagh 0-1
Carlow Team
Kevin Kehoe, Richard Coady , Shane Kavanagh , Alan Corcoran , David English , John Rogers , Ger Coady , Diarmuid Byrne , Jack Kavanagh ,Seamus Murphy , Eddie Byrne , John Michael Nolan , Andrew Gaule , Martin Kavanagh , Craig Doyle,
Subs: Sean Murphy for Gaule (51); E Coady for Doyle (56); E Nolan for J Kavanagh (61); R Smithers for Seamus Murphy (67).
Division 2A Results
Carlow 3-17 Kerry 1-24
Westmeath 1-22 Wicklow 2-10
Division 2A Table
Westmeath 4 3 1 0 97 60 6
Carlow 4 3 1 0 91 59 6
Kerry 4 2 1 1 79 76 5
Derry 4 2 1 1 64 63 5
London 4 1 3 0 51 78 2
Wicklow 4 0 4 0 52 98 0