Ciaran Carey admitted to being "thrilled" with Kerry's debut win in the Leinster SHC.

Speaking to RTE after the 2-19 to 0-17 round-robin victory over Carlow in Tralee, the Kingdom boss stated: "I'm thrilled. It's new territory for Kerry and it makes it extra sweet in our backyard.

"We came away with two points, but only hurling to 55 per cent of our potential, so there's loads to work on."

The Limerick legend agreed that Kerry's strong showing in Division 1B of the Allianz League brought extra pressure on them.

"There was a small bit of an extra squeeze on Kerry today.

"They were in a position where they were fancied against Carlow and that is because of the standard they have set themselves in the Munster League and maintaining our status in 1B."

And Carey expects Westmeath, who hammered Offaly 2-22 to 1-11 in Mullingar, to provide a sterner test for his side when they visit Austin Stack Park next weekend.

"I felt the lads were slightly tired today for some reason as well. It's something we need to be very mindful of taking into consideration we're playing next Saturday. I've seen Westmeath play three times this year. They need to be shown respect. They are a top-class team, but at the end of the day it's what we bring ourselves," he added.

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