The Nire and Stradbally set for Waterford SFC showdown

Old adversaries The Nire and Stradbally will square up in round two of the Waterford SFC with a semi-final place on offer. The clubs have met in seven county finals since 2002.

Shane Walsh slotted five points as The Nire scraped past Clashmore (0-9 to 0-8) on Friday. Clashmore keeper Declan Coughlan saved a penalty from Shane Ryan with four minutes left. The underdogs went 31 minutes without a score but finished stronger into a stiff breeze. Injury-time singles by Declan Allen and Brian O’Halloran reduced the damage to two. Driven forward by Tadhg De Burca, Clashmore chased a winner but O’Halloran drove his shot over in the sixth added minute.

Stradbally kicked on in the second half to beat 14-man Ardmore 1-19 to 1-9 on Saturday. Seamus Prendergast was sent off for a second booking nine minutes into the second half. The Reds cashed in by firing 1-5 without reply. Robert Ahearne fisted to the net on 49 minutes after Brian Keane blocked his initial effort. Ardmore sub Sean Barron beat Eoin Cunningham from the penalty spot.