Jack's sitting pretty as Kerry beat Galway but Tribesmen maintain top ...

Roscommon’s defeat to Derry meant that the loss here didn’t cost Paraic Joyce’s men their top flight status, but it’s clear too that they need some frontline ballast back into their set up for the summer.

A late Tommo Culhane goal scrutinised Kerry’s occasional loss of late poise, but it was mostly upside for Jack O’Connor ahead of next week’s warm weather training camp in the Algarve.

Of greatest benefit is the growing assuredness of midfielder Joe O’Connor, who turned in a powerful afternoon’s work alongside Barry O’Sullivan. Killian Spillane looked sharp on his return but spoiled a good afternoon’s work with three efforts that fell short. He should have finished with half a dozen points.

That Dublin dismantled Tyrone in Croke Park would have filtered through to the Killarney sideline and removed the fraught sense that Kerry might have to play a league final on the eve of their departure to Portugal.

Having initially trailed, the visitors controlled the first quarter and led 0-5 to 0-2 by the 20th minute, courtesy of points from Conroy and Sweeney, but Kenmare duo Sean O’Shea and Stephen O’Brien had Kerry level within eight minutes. 

Thereafter the Kingdom never trailed, with Spillane showing well inside. They led 0-8 to 0-6 at the interval and three more within ten minutes of the resumption put Kerry into a commanding 0-11 to 0-6 lead. 

Two of the scorers were significant – Armin Heinrich claimed his maiden score as a Kerry senior, and veteran Paul Geaney clipped over their eleventh point as he shapes up for another summer at the sharp end of Kerry’s attack. They still need him.

Johnny Heaney pulled a point back for Galway, but Kerry management then sprung the Clifford brothers and Graham O’Sullivan from the bench. Though the Fossa duo’s impact was instantaneous (Paudie pointing on 51 minutes), O’Sullivan was critical in ensuring Kerry continued to dictate the pace. The Dromid man has become one of Kerry’s linchpins.

A pair of Sean O’Shea scores, one from the 45m line, put Kerry out of sight on the scoreboard, 0-15 to 0-8, before they had their pocket picked on the restart from Shane Ryan to Gavin White. Tommo Culhane profited from the turnover to make it 0-15 to 1-9, and a further Paul Conroy point made it a tad edgy for three minutes of added time.

Or at least as edgy as anything could be with everything decided.

Kerry scorers: K Spillane (0-4, 1f), S O’Shea (0-4, 2f), A Heinrich, J O’Connor, P Geaney, S O’Brien, D Roche, P Clifford and D Clifford (0-1 each) 

Galway scorers: T Culhane (1-0), J Heaney, P Conroy and R Finnerty (2Ms) (0-2 each, D McHugh, J Daly, C Sweeny, and C Ó Curraoin 

KERRY: S Ryan; P Murphy, D Casey, A Heinrich; S O’Brien, T Morley, G White; B D O’Sullivan, J O’Connor; A Spillane, P Geaney, S O’Brien; K Spillane, D Roche, S O’Shea Subs: P Clifford for P Geaney, D Clifford for D Roche, G O’Sullivan for A Heinrich (all 49), B Ó Beaglaoich for P Murphy (53), R Buckley for S O’Brien (57) 

GALWAY: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, E Kelly; D McHugh, John Daly, L Silke; P Conroy, J Maher; J Heaney, C Darcy, C Sweeney; R Cunningham, R Finnerty, C Ó Curraoin Subs: D O’Flaherty for R Cunningham (33), T Culhane for C Darcy, P Egan for C Ó Curraoin (both 47), J Glynn for L Silke (55), K Molloy for D McHugh (57) 

REFEREE: S Mulhare (Laois)