Clifford hits hat-trick in Kerry win over Cavan

David Clifford starred as Kerry bounced back from last week's shock defeat by Meath to beat Cavan 3-20 to 1-17 in Saturday's All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final in Killarney.

Five-time All-Star Clifford hit 3-7 - including 2-5 in the first half to give Kerry a 2-12 to 0-8 half-time lead - as he put Cavan's defence to the sword in a heavily one-sided opening 35 minutes.

After a chastening first period, Cavan made a game of it, with Evan Crowe's 51st-minute goal part of an unanswered 1-3 that raised hopes of an unlikely fightback.

But Clifford's third goal eased the Kingdom's worries and fired them into next week's quarter-finals, where they could meet reigning champions Armagh in a repeat of last year's semi-final.

Cavan - for whom Paddy Lynch top-scored with 0-12 - bow out of the championship after losing three straight games to Donegal, Tyrone and Kerry, having started the round-robin phase with a superb win over Mayo in Castlebar.

An early coming together with Carolan left Clifford with a torn jersey

Stung by an 11-point home reverse to Meath, Kerry boss Jack O'Connor made six changes, and despite losing the returning Diarmuid O'Connor to injury after just three minutes, the Munster kingpins raced away from the Ulster county in the early exchanges.

And Clifford, as he has been so often down the years, was central to an attacking masterclass.

Having been riled by an early coming together with Niall Carolan that left him with a ripped jersey, the Fossa club-man raced past his man-marker and drilled a low shot into Liam Brady's net.

Cavan's early plight was exacerbated when they lost Cian Reilly to injury and Carolan to a black card after an off-the-ball clash with Clifford.

Two minutes after registering his first two-pointer, Clifford finished a flowing move in style with his shot going in off the post. The 26-year-old notched another two-pointer before Seanie O'Shea raised an orange flag of his own.

While Clifford was denied a hat-trick by a fine Brady save, his substantial contribution helped give the hosts a commanding 10-point cushion at the break.

With Kerry easing off the accelerator, the Breffnimen roared back into proceedings when Crowe's goal was swiftly followed by Oisin Kiernan's two-pointer and a Padraig Faulkner score which could have been a goal.

And when impressive full-forward Lynch nailed a two-pointer, Cavan trailed by just four at 2-16 to 1-15.

Two minutes later, however, Clifford finally bagged his treble when he pounced after Brady denied Joe O'Connor, another crucial intervention from the forward from which Cavan never recovered.