Emma Dineen fires Kingdom past Dubs in league opener

Emma Dineen struck 1-03 at Parnell Park as Kerry won the battle of the champions in the opening round of the Lidl National Football League Division 1 on Saturday evening.

Whereas Kerry got the better of Galway to claim NFL top-tier honours at Croke Park last April, Dublin recorded a 0-18 to 1-10 win at the Kingdom's expense a little under four months later to reclaim the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship crown.

Although it doesn’t make amends for their defeat in the latter game, Kerry will undoubtedly take great confidence from this victory as they look to defend their Division 1 title.

In their first clash since that All-Ireland SFC decider, Kerry squeezed in front with a point from Jadyn Lucey after just 27 seconds.

The Jackies welcomed Olwen Carey back following a two-season absence, but even though they created a number of scoring chances early on, Katie Brosnan doubled the Kingdom’s lead on seven minutes.

Dineen also found the range just shy of the first-quarter mark to offer her side further breathing room and while Dublin finally opened their account with a point from centre half-back Martha Byrne a little over 21 minutes into the play, this was immediately cancelled out at the opposite end by Lucey’s second of the half.

Kerry did receive a let-off when Dublin full-forward Niamh Hetherton subsequently fired wide off a goalscoring opportunity, but a second point from her opposite number Dineen ultimately ensured the Kingdom brought a 0-5 to 0-1 cushion into the interval.

In a bid to eat into their deficit, Dublin - who had eight starters from the 2023 Brendan Martin Cup showpiece, as opposed to five from Kerry - introduced team captain Carla Rowe and Kate Murray on the resumption.

However, after Dineen and