Second-half goalfest sees Carlow through
Kerry 2-11 Carlow 6-10
Carlow scored five second-half goals as they put Kerry to the sword in this afternoon's Christy Ring Cup semi-final replay in Tralee.
Kerry could only manage three second-half points and a late goal as Carlow, managed this season by Kevin Ryan, ran rampant in the closing 35 minutes.
The Barrowsiders trailed by 1-8 to 1-5 at the interval, but burst out of the blocks in the second half and bagged a hat-trick of goals in the third quarter.
Robbie Foley, Craig Doyle and Ruairi Dunbar were to the fore on the restart, but the visitors were forced to dig deep after a terrible start.
Kerry, buoyed by their efforts in the drawn game, were in flying form in the opening stages and following James McCarthy's 19th-minute goal, they led by 1-5 to 0-2.
Indeed the Kingdom raced into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead after seven-and-a-half minutes thanks to a brace of Shane Brick points and a John Mike Dooley score.
Carlow kept in touch with points from Andrew Gaul and Shane Kavanagh, but with Kerry having the aid of a stiff wind they quickly raced into a six-point advantage.
Full-forward McCarthy blasted to the ball to the back of the net after Brick had dropped the ball in towards the edge of the square from a free.
Kerry failed to build on this momentum however as Carlow launched a determined comeback.
Ruairí Dunbar was instrumental as four minutes after the Kerry goal, Carlow bounced straight back.
Dunbar slotted a free directly to the back of the Kerry net to cut the gap to three points at 1-05 to 1-02.
A trio of Kerry points quickly cancelled out Dunbar's effort, but Carlow were strongest before the break, as points from Dunbar, Doyle and Foley left the score at 1-08 to 1-05 at half-time.
The second half began as the opening half ended with Foley adding his second point and cutting the gap to two.
The champions then registered the first of their second half goals arriving. Gaul put his name to it as the visitors broke in front for the first time.
Carlow went on to score a further 1-03 without reply, with Kerry held scoreless in the second half until the 53rd minute at which stage Carlow had opened up a seven-point gap.
Foley was on target for Carlow's third goal in the 46th minute, following a pass from midfielder James Hickey.
The hard-working Shane Brick cut the gap to six points, before Carlow pounced again. Doyle's first green flag opened up a 4-9 to 1-9 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Kerry pressed hard in the final quarter with John Mike Dooley handed a goal-scoring opportunity, but Carlow goalkeeper Frank Foley pulled off a superb save.
Foley added his second goal for Carlow with eight minutes remaining.
Dooley cancelled that out with one of his own in the 69th minute.
However Carlow were firmly in control and completed the rout with a late Doyle goal.
Ryan's charges will face Down in next Saturday's final, with the winners collecting the silverware and also moving on to the promotion play-off against the Liam McCarthy Cup relegation losers on August 1.
Scorers:
Carlow: R Foley 2-02, C Doyle 2-01, R Dunbar (1-0f), A Gaul 1-01 each, P Kehoe 0-02 (0-01f), S Kavanagh (0-01 '65'), M Brennan, E Byrne 0-01 each.
Kerry: S Brick 0-07 (0-05f), JM Dooley 1-01, J McCarthy 1-00, E Sweeney, G O'Brien, B Brick 0-01 each.
CARLOW: F Foley; W Hickey, S Kavanagh, D Shaw; E Coady, J Rogers, R Coady; J Hickey, D Roberts; R Dunbar, C Doyle, M Brennan; A Gaul, R Foley, Paudie Kehoe.
Subs used: E Byrne for R Coady (20 mins, blood), E Byrne for Dunbar (46-52, blood), E Byrne for Hickey (53), C Hughes for Foley (64), Paul Kehoe for Roberts (70).
KERRY: J Healy; P O'Grady, A Healy, C Harris; J Casey, T Murnane, J Godley; E Sheehy, J Griffin; E Sweeney, S Brick, B Brick; G O'Brien, J McCarthy, JM Dooley.
Subs used: M Hannifin for Harris (half-time).
Referee: Declan O'Driscoll (Limerick).
