Kerry rule out toss to decide final venue

THE Kerry County Board has ruled out a toss to decide the venue for their Allianz NFL final with Derry the weekend after next, almost certainly on Saturday, to avoid a clash with Munster’s Heineken Cup semi-final the following day.

While O’Moore Park, Portlaoise, is the favoured choice of the Central Competitions Control Committee in the event of it being a stand-alone fixture, it was confirmed yesterday that the Galway County Board have applied to have the final in Pearse Stadium.

The CCCC face the dilemma of finding venues for all four divisional finals (unless there is a hold-up in deciding the qualifiers from Division Two) and at the same time not going head-to-head with the rugby game. For that reason their decision on the starting time of the Kerry-Derry decider may influence choice of venue.