Wexford hammer Kerry to set up Clare clash

Wexford will play Clare in the All-Ireland quarter-finals next weekend after they brushed aside a game and gutsy Kerry team in this preliminary quarter-final match that the Slaneysiders ultimately put to bed with three second half goals at Austin Stack Park in Tralee this afternoon.

Having led by double scores – 0-16 to 0-8 – at half time, Wexford showed their much greater class to ease away to a 21-point win that was a fair reflection on their skill levels, though it might be a little harsh on Kerry to have been overwhelmed by so much in the end.

After shipping five goals to Antrim in last week's Joe McDonagh Cup final – three in the first half alone – it says much for the tenacity of the Kerry defence on this occasion that Kerry goalkeeper Louis Dee didn’t have much to do by way of making a save until he had to pick Conor McDonald’s fizzing shot out of the net in the 54th minute.

That goal put Wexford 1-24 to 0-13 ahead, and it was in that third quarter that they put this game well beyond the Kingdom, who clearly and understandably tired after their Croke Park exertions last week.

Wexford mined their goals from McDonald, Rory O’Connor and sub Conor Hearne, while Lee Chin converted 14 points, including frees and a '65’.

The first half started ominously for Kerry with Wexford putting up the first five scores of the game – all inside the first 10 minutes – with four from Chin, wearing no.9 but playing inside at full forward.

The best Kerry could muster in that period was a wide from Podge Boyle, and the early sense was that Kerry could take a real beating here before the last of the 3,000-strong crowd had settled into their seats.

This Kerry team is nothing if not gutsy, though, and they settled into to enjoy their best period