HE tore the Kerry defence to shreds when he lined out with IT Tralee in the McGrath Cup last weekend and less than seven later he was equally impressive when he swapped his jersey for the green and gold of his county in the Under 21 Hastings Cup invitational tournament against Meath in Tipperary.
Killarney Legion sharpshooter Conor Keane – the name currently on the lips of every Kerry fan – notched in impressive hat-trick of goals to fire his side to an emphatic 5-9 to 0-8 victory in Puckaun and to copperfasten his standing as the most exciting and talented young forward in the domestic game.
Keane – included in the East Kerry All-Stars line-up on Friday night – had the net bulging three times in the first half to give Darragh Ó Sé’s charges an impressive win although it wasn’t sufficient to see them qualify for the semi-finals of the tournament.
Keane notched Kerry’s first goal after four minutes when he linked up with fellow Killarney player Micheál Burns and Glenflesk’s Dara Roche and six minutes later he was on target once again.
Meath, to their credit, lived with Kerry throughout the half but when the lethal Keane struck for his third goal, just before the break, that was that as far as the contest was concerned as it built up a 3-4 to 0-5 interval lead.
The stylish Dara Roche and substitute Jack Savage also got their names on the goals sheet before the close of the game but all the headlines go to the livewire Keane who finished with a personal tally of 3-2, with Roche accounting for 1-2 and Micheál Burns of Dr Crokes knocking over two points.
Kerry: Darragh Ó Shea; Cormac Coffey, Gavin Crowley; Cathal Murphy; Cathal Ó Luing; Denis Daly, Ronan Murphy; Jack Barry, Eanna Ó Conchuir; Micheál Burns, Brian Crowley, Liam Carey; Dara Roche, Cillian Fitzgerald, Conor Keane. Subs: Jack Savage for Carey; Gary O’Sullivan for Ó Conchuir; Matthew Flaherty for Fitzgerald.
