IF there's a team out there that is serious about relieving South Kerry of their county championship title they are going to have to come up something much better than what St Kierans brought to Cahersiveen on Sunday. St Kierans came with a sound looking team – on paper – laden with senior, junior and minor intercounty players, and seemed intent on making life difficult for the champions, but ultimately their challenge reflected the nature of the three district boards they draw their players from – disjointed.

It's been said several times already that this South Kerry team are more a 'club' than some of the clubs operating, and struggling, in this championship, and full credit must go to South Kerry for going about their own business and hammering out a comfortable win here without ever needing to extend themselves.

That they could win here without ever having to hit top gear will have pleased manager John Galvin, and there was plenty of vindication for the gamble of starting Gary O'Driscoll and Aidan 'Shine' O'Sullivan, both of whom only returned in mid-week from a summer in the USA.

O'Sullivan was particularly impressive at centre back, with O'Driscoll's skills perfectly complementing John Sugrue's toiling in midfield. Indeed, it was here, as much as anywhere else, where South Kerry laid the foundation for their win, with Seamus Scanlon and Mike Coakley stuggling to gain a real foothold here for the losers.

O'Driscoll's return allowed South Kerry to release Bryan Sheehan into full forward and the St Marys man returned a profitable 1-8 for a honest hour's work, with Aidan 'Dash' O'Sullivan, Declan O'Sullivan, Ian Galvin and Niall O'Shea contributing a combined five points from play from the attack.

Equally pleasing from South Kerry's point of view will be the concession of just 1-4 from play, and had John Sugrue not uncharacteristically drops a ball in the square for Eamon John O'Donoghue to crash to the net it would have been a tidy day's work defensively.

O'Donoghue's goal – coming in the 12th minute when Sugrue pulled down an underhit Tom McGoldrick '45' only to drop it into the Cordal man's path – threatened to make a contest of the game, nudging, as it did, St Kierans into a 1-1 to 0-3 lead, before a fine O'Donoghue put the visitors two points in front.

But South Kerry don't do rattled, and they continued in their inexorable way to reel off points from O'Shea, Galvin and Sheehan to regain the lead.

Edmond Walsh's point punctuated the pattern before further South Kerry scores from Aidan 'Dash' O'Sullivan, Christopher O'Driscoll, and a trio from Sheehan ( from play, a sideline and a free) left the champions 0-11 to 1-4 ahead at the break.

The half time analysis was simple. St Kierans had the wind advantage in the second half and would need an early score or two to settle themselves and, perhaps, unnerve the hosts. Instead, three minutes into the new half, Sheehan pulled away from his marker Shane Curtain, collected a pass from Ian Galvin, slips back inside Curtain and drilled a low shot inside Sean Óg Ó Ciardubháin's near post for a goal. Game over.

A minute later Johnny Buckley might have had a goal for St Kierans but slipped as he tried to connect with O'Donoghue's centred pass, and then Aidan 'Dash' O'Sullivan flashed a shot across Ó Ciardubháin's just side. And so it went.

With Declan O'Sullivan orchestrating matters from centre-forward, South Kerry plotted and probed and picked off just four points in the second half, while St Kierans huffed and puffed and managed just half that number in the second period.

The most dramatic moment of the second half was the 49th minute dismissal of Curtain for two bookings for two high tackles on Sheehan and then Bryan Hickey. It left St Kierans with a numerical disadvantage for the last 12 minutes, but even had the imbalance gone the other way it was still impossible to see any other result.

SOUTH KERRY: Liam Sheehan, Stephen Curran, Stephen O'Sullivan, Killian Young, Christopher O'Driscoll ( 0-1), Aidan ' Shine' O'Sullivan, Niall O'Drsicoll, John Sugrue, Gary O'Driscoll, Bryan Hickey, Declan O'Sullivan (0-1), Aidan 'Dash' O'Sullivan (0-2), Ian Galvin (0-1), Bryan Sheehan (1-8, 0-3f, 1 sideline), Niall O'Shea (0-1). Subs: John Golden (0-1) for J Sugrue, Ronan Hussey for D O'Sullivan, Darren Breen for I Galvin, Daniel O'Sullivan for N O'Driscoll, Daniel Falvey for N O'Shea.

ST KIERANS: Sean Og Ó Ciardubháin, Philip Galvin, Shane Curtain, Matthew Galvin, James Walsh, Padraig Reidy, Kevin Shea, Seamus Scanlon, Mike Coakley (0-1), Daniel Murphy, Edmond Walsh (0-1), Pa McCarthy, Tom McGoldrick (0-2f), Eamon John O'Donoghue (1-2), Johnny Buckley. Subs: Daniel O'Shea for P McCarthy, Tom Mahoney for J Buckley, Eamon Kiely for D Murphy, Flor McAuliffe for E Walsh, Thomas Fitzgerald for T McGoldrick.

REFEREE: Sean Joy ( Laune Rangers)

- Paul Brennan at Cahersiveen