Farrell reflects on Dublin's 'tough' night in Tralee

On a night when they required all the experience they could call on, Dublin manager Dessie Farrell admitted it was a tough night at the office for his callow side in Tralee.

The atrocious weather conditions did little to dampen the raucous home crowd, with the Kingdom condemning the men from the capital to a second successive league defeat.

The damage was done in the second period of the first half, with Dublin having a goal chalked off and Niall Scully sent to the bin, while Kerry, with the aid of the wind, hit 1-08 without reply to lead by 13 at the interval.

They added only one more score after the break, but the game was over as a contest, even if the Dubs managed to put a gloss on the scoreline.

Before throw-in, James McCarthy and Con O'Callaghan were among four late withdrawals, with Lee Gannon, Darragh Conlon, Lorcan O'Dell and Cameron McCormack getting the chance to stake championship claims.

Even the bench had a most unfamiliar feel to it with Farrell introducing the likes of CJ Smith, Killian McGinnis and Ross McGarry.

The result will only fuel the notion of a Dublin side in transition, and Farrell admitted it was a challenging night on the road.

The game got away from us in the second period of the first half

"It was a tough night," he told RTÉ Sport. "It was always going to be the case coming to Tralee. Even with the strongest of Dublin teams over the years, it’s a cauldron down here.

"Obviously we were down a few bodies, a lot of newbies in tonight. It was a great experience for them to play Kerry in Tralee, but the game got away from us in the second period of the first half.

"We struggled to manage that in the way we would have wanted."

Dublin manager Dessie Farrell has stressed that they are in a period of