Kerry got what they deserved, Fitzmaurice didn’t

I was in a bar down the road from Fitzgerald Stadium before the Kerry-Kildare game last Saturday. The volume on the TV was turned up as the Irish women’s hockey team began their second penalty shoot-out of the tournament for a place in the final of the World Cup.

It seemed like I had strayed into the Killarney branch of the Hockey Supporters Club, such was the level of interest that gripped the public house. It was quite funny to see grown men and women in Kerry and Kildare jerseys roaring instructions at the TV screen telling each player what they should be doing with their penalty.

I’d never watched more than a few minutes of the sport before, maybe some time around the Olympics, but this was easy to follow and enjoy for complete novices like myself.