Kerry SFC final: Dingle 2-13 Austin Stacks 1-12
Dingle captain Paul Geaney struck late with two goals to deliver a long-awaited county championship title for his club as the West Kerry club denied Austin Stacks the chance to join Dr Crokes at the top of the roll of honour with a 14th senior title.
The victory sees the title go to Dingle for the first time since 1948, and helps soothe the pain of losing last year’s county final to Dr Crokes and two other deciders since 2012.
Having trailed for most of the game, Dingle needed a late smash-and-grab to wrestle the win from Stacks, and who else but Paul Geaney to deliver the coup de grace of two goals that will only embellish the legend of this county final – and Geaney’s reputation – over time.
For Austin Stacks, this was a tough defeat. Having led from the second to the 52nd minute only to see it all snatched from them by Dingle’s resilience and Geaney’s lethal eye for goal.
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Geaney’s Kerry team-mate Tom O’Sullivan played his part too, sending in two long balls that Geaney so brilliantly capitalised on, while the defender also scored two points in a devastating period when Dingle feasted on 1-4 to no reply, pushing them from 0-11 to 0-9 down to a five-point lead in the 56th minute.
Stacks then netted from the penalty spot, Cian Purcell coolly slotting his shot past Gavin Curran after Colm Browne was taken down by the goalkeeper, but it was brief respite for a team very much on the rocks.
Another long ball in from O’Sullivan was fed off to Geaney by Ned Ryan. The three-time All-Ireland winner doesn’t pass up those chances for goal, and he didn’t here.
When they reflect on it, Stacks – senior champions in 2022 and intermediate champions last year – will know their half-time lead wasn’t enough having played the first half with a huge wind behind them.
Dylan Geaney opened the scoring for Dingle, but Armin Heinrich’s two-pointer in the second minute gave Stacks a lead they wouldn’t relinquish for 50 minutes.
Dingle’s Mark O’Connor received a black card in the third minute, and when he returned Stacks were 0-6 to 0-1 ahead, Paddy Lane, Ben Murphy and Joe O’Connor (two-pointer) with the scores.
It took until the 18th minute for Dingle to get their second score, courtesy of Conor Geaney. Another from him and a fourth on the hooter from Paul Geaney left Dingle a manageable four adrift, 0-8 to 0-4, by the break.
Stacks had the first point of the second half but Dingle remained composed. As the game hit the 50-minute mark they were just one behind, 0-10 to 0-9, and then Paul Geaney made this final his own.
DINGLE: GH Curran; P O’Connor, A O’Connor, T O’Sullivan (0-0-2); TL O’Sullivan, C Flannery, Brian O’Connor (0-0-1); Billy O’Connor, N Geaney; T de Brún (0-0-1), P Geaney (2-0-2), M O’Connor; C Geaney (0-1-2; 1tpf, 1f), M Flaherty, D Geaney (0-1-1; 1tpf).
Subs: D O’Sullivan for P Geaney (temp, 7-13 mins), N Ryan for Billy O’Connor (51), M Geaney for de Brún (51), C Bambury for C Geaney (57), S Moran for TL O’Sullivan (58).
AUSTIN STACKS: M Tansley, C Griffin, J Nagle, N Fitzmaurice, E Carroll, A Heinrich (0-1-0), R Shanahan, J O’Connor (0-1-0), B Murphy (0-0-3), M O’Donnell, C Horan, D Kirby, P Lane (0-0-3; 1f), C Purcell (1-0-0; pen), J Kissane (0-0-1).
Subs: J O’Shea for E Carroll (ht), D Casey for Fitzmaurice (37 mins), G Horan (0-0-1f) for C Horan (42), R Carroll for Kissane, C Browne for O’Donnell, J Murphy for Griffin (temp, 56-ft).
