Down 2-28; Kerry 4-11: Kerry's grumbles about having to make the long trip to Portaferry on an Easter Sunday were prophetic as an effervescent Down team cut them to pieces.
It started with Paul Branniff waltzing through for a goal in the third minute, and, though Liam Boyle found the net for Kerry 15 minutes later, they still trailed 1-1 to 1-7 and eventually turned around to face the second-half breeze a daunting 1-6 to 1-12 in arrears.
The third quarter belonged to Down, Gareth Johnston's goal leaving them 2-19 to 1-7 ahead. John M Dooley, John Egan and John Lucid goaled for Kerry in injury-time to put an undeserved gloss on the result.
DOWN: Graham Clarke; L Clarke, S Murray, E Dorrian; Gabriel Clarke, G Savage, S Wilson; A Savage (0-2), G Adair (0-1); G McGrattan (0-5), P Branniff (1-5), B McGourty (0-1); M Coulter (0-1), J McGrattan (0-8), G Johnston (1-5). Sub: J Convery for G McGrattan.
KERRY: T Flynn; B Blackwell, A Healey, J Griffin; C Harris (0-1), J McCarthy, P O'Connell; I McCarthy, C Flaherty; J Egan (1-1), L Boyle (1-0), M Conway (0-1); S Brick (0-6), J Bunyan, JM Dooley (1-2). Subs: M Lucid (1-0) for M Conway; D Young for J McCarthy; C O'Sullivan for I McCarthy; E Fitzgerald for J Griffin.
Referee: E Harris (Dublin)
