Brendan O'Sullivan is congratulated by Kieran Donaghy after finding the net for Austin Stacks. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

Austin Stacks 1-15 Newcastlewest 0-8

Paul Brennan reports from Tralee

AUSTIN STACKS WILL play Cork champions St Finbarr’s in next month’s Munster Club Senior Football Championship final after easing past Newcastlewest in Tralee, with Brendan O’Sullivan’s 42nd-minute goal breaking whatever faint resistance the Limerick champions could still offer.

Stacks were in control from the very start once Sean Quilter pointed them into the lead from a third-minute free. By the water break they were five ahead, with O’Sullivan’s point in the ninth minute the pick of the five.

Newcastlewest’s first score arrived courtesy of an Eoin Hurley free in the 24th minute, but Stacks were relentless in their efficiency, and scores from Donaghy (from play and a mark) and two converted frees from O’Brien had Stacks in the ascendancy at half-time, leading 0-9 to 0-1.

The Limerick champions had offered plenty of positives in that first half, defending reasonably well and curtailing Donaghy for the most part, but some sloppy tackling conceded too many frees which O’Brien was always going to punish

It was up front, however, where Newcastlewest really fell down. Too often an inside forward was too isolated, and when they did get ball in hand, or venture inside the Stacks 45, they found themselves with few options and less space.

Credit for much of that to Stacks, whose defending was excellent – collectively and individually. As they have been all season, they defended in numbers and with great discipline, forcing the visitors into low percentage shots when they could eventually find a sliver of time and space.

Austin Stacks' Conor Jordan under pressure from Shane Stack of Newcastlewest. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO

O’Brien hit two early scores after half-time to stretch Stacks’ lead, but then the Limerick men enjoyed their best period. Shane Stack had a sniff of a goal but was fouled in the build-up and Hurley converted the free. Mike McMahon then converted a mark, sub Diarmaid Kelly scored from play, and then their county man, Iain Corbett, fired over from distance to make it 0-11 to 0-5.

It gave the sizeable travelling support something to cheer about but their excitement and hope was short-lived. Greg Horan whipped over a good point just before Joe O’Connor’s surging run fed Sean Quilter near the end line, and his inviting cross was tapped to the net by Brendan O’Sullivan to make it 1-12 to 0-5.

O’Sullivan followed up with a point to put Stacks 11 ahead at the water break, and it was elementary thereafter.

Newcastlewest managed three consolation scores after that but Stacks were home and hosed.

Scorers for Austin Stacks: Darragh O’Brien 0-8 (5f); Brendan O’Sullivan 1-2; Kieran Donaghy 0-2 (1m); Greg Horan, Sean Quilter (f) and Shane O’Callaghan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Newcastlewest: Eoin Hurley 0-3 (3f); Diarmaid Kelly 0-2; Cian Sheehan, Iain Corbett and Mike McMahon (f) 0-1 each.

Austin Stacks

• 1. Wayne Guthrie

• 2. Colin Griffin
• 3. Dylan Casey
• 4. Jack O’Shea

• 5. Paul O’Sullivan
• 6. Conor Jordan
• 17. Barry Shanahan

• 8. Joseph O’Connor
• 9. Greg Horan

• 10. Michael O’Gara
• 11. Fiachna Mangan
• 12. Brendan O’Sullivan

• 19. Sean Quilter
• 14. Kieran Donaghy
• 15. Darragh O’Brien

Subs:

• 21. Armin Heinrich for J O’Shea (42)
• 13. Shane O’Callaghan for F Mangan (43)
• 18. Michael O’Donnell for K Donaghy (51)
• 23. Jack Morgan for P O’Sullivan (53)
• 25. David Fitzmaurice for M O’Gara (54)

Newcastlewest

• 1. Andrew Ruddle

• 2. Michael O’Keeffe
• 3. Darren Carmody
• 4. Brian O’Sullivan

• 5. Eoin Murphy
• 6. James Kelly
• 7. Steven Brosnan

• 8. Cian Sheehan
• 9. Iain Corbett

• 18. AJ O’Connor
• 11. Shane Stack
• 12. Brian Hurley

• 13. Bryan Nix
• 14. Mike McMahon
• 15. Eoin Hurley

Subs:

• 17. Diarmaid Kelly for B Hurley (29)
• 10. Sean Murphy for S Brosnan (ht)
• 30. Thomas Quilligan for S Stack (39)
• 20. Lee Woulfe for J Kelly (46)
• 19. Donnchadh Woods for M McMahon (52)

Referee: Sean Lonergan (Tipperary)