Sticky Stacks extricate themselves from another tight spot

Austin Stacks (Kerry) 3-5 The Nire (Waterford) 2-4

The neutrals at Páirc Uí Chaoimh yesterday would ideally have organised a good start for The Nire and an early Stacks sending off to ensure this provincial decider was edgy and tight, and the Kerry champions seemed happy to comply in a bizarre opening 15 minutes of this gruntfest.

The game hadn’t ticked over into its eighth minute when The Nire’s stellar young talent Conor Gleeson surged through to put his side 1-3 to 0-0 ahead. It might have been worse for the raging favourites from the Kingdom, with Michael O’Gorman almost capitalising on sloppy Stacks defending for a second goal.