A goal apiece from bothers Patrick and Stephen McBreatry inside of nine minutes laid the foundation to give Kilcar an opening win over the season at the expense of neighbours Killybegs.
Kilcar 3-9 Killybegs 0-9
The Towney-based side, who have John McNulty back at the helm for the first time since 2015, were double-score winners with only really Hugh McFadden – seven points of which four were from play – keeping Killybegs in any sort of contention.
Patrick McBrearty scored the first of those on five minutes when he finished off a pass from Andrew McClean and the on nine minutes it was Stephen McBrearty who steered home with Conor Doherty this time the provider.
That meant that Killybegs were chasing and when Kilcar added four points on the bounce thereafter – with Stephen McBrearty posting two of those and one apiece for Mark McHugh and Andrew McClean – it was 2-4 to 0-0 on 18 minutes.
McFadden finally got the Killybegs account going on 19 minutes and by half-time the Fishermen were in arrears of 2-6 to 0-5.
It wasn’t until after 40 minutes that Jack McSharry became the second Killybegs point-scorer and by then Kilcar had 2-9 to Killybegs 0-7 on the board. Nine minutes from time Mark McHugh added a third Kilcar goal.
Eoin McHugh went off late in the contest with a leg injury.
Kilcar: Kevin Campbell; Barry McGinley, Brian O’Donnell, Pauric Carr; Barry Shovlin, Ryan McHugh, Ryan McShane; Ciaran McGinley, Eoin McHugh; Conor Doherty, Andrew McClean (0-1), Stephen McBrearty (1-2); Matthew McClean (0-2), Patrick McBrearty (1-3,1f), Mark McHugh (1-1). Subs: Odhran Doogan, Mark Sweeney and Darragh O’Donnell for Ciaran McGinley, Conor Doherty and Ryan McShane (53).
Kellybegs: Kevin Martin; Cillian Gildea, Ciaran Conaghan, Niall Campbell; Seamus Og Byrne, Eoghan Ban Gallagher, John Ban Gallagher; Hugh McFadden (0-7,4f), Evan Broderick; Ryan Cunningham, Jack McSharry (0-1), Michael Statham; Ryan Carr, Paul Cunningham, Daniel Breslin. Subs: Shaun Gorrell (0-1) for P Cunningham 43; Shaun Kelly for Breslin (50).