The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Crokes see off Stacks to keep club title defence on course
COUNTY SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP GROUP1ROUND3 Dr Crokes 0-18 Austin Stacks 1-10 TIMMY SHEEHAN Lewis Road, Killarney
A STRONG second half showing from the defending Champions ensured that they ultimately booked their place in this year’s Senior Club Championship final at the expense of Austin Stacks in Group One round three of the competition in Lewis Road last Sunday afternoon. A most potent attacking unit returned sixteen points from play,
THE GAME IN 60 SECONDS MAINMAN
David Mannix, Conor Jordan and Kieran Donaghy in the first half produced passages of productive play for the visitors, but Crokes had match winners in all sectors of their attack, and they complimented each other in terms of their unselfish support play. If forced to choose one would have to single out Tony Brosnan who produced a masterclass in finishing.
KEY MOMENT
Maybe Shane Murphy’s save from Kieran Donaghy in the first half. A second goal for Stacks would have given them a three point lead at an opportune time and served as a real morale boost. Whether it would have ultimately influenced the eventual outcome is mere conjecture at this stage, but a half time lead would have afforded them a vital cushion going into the second half.
TALKING POINT
The off the ball incident in the second half which, after he had received attention, forced Jack O’Shea to retire from the encounter. No card was shown to any player after the referee had consulted with his linesmen and umpires. However, the reaction of the players and the spectators suggested that Crokes were pretty fortunate to finish the game with the full complement of players. and really, it was the level of their expertise in attacking situations which provided the basis for this particular win. Their movement, combination and clinical finishing was at times right out of the top drawer, and while Stacks defensive formation at times allowed them too much time and space, a lot of their scores were pretty sublime efforts, to say the very least. Unusually for them, they didn’t really create any clear cut goal opportunities, but, their scoring options from all angles and distances always ensured that they had the facility to step up a gear whenever the situation demanded.
Level at half time, Stacks, at that stage were in a challenging position, but once Crokes opened up a scoring gap in the third quarter they were always in control of matters thereafter with the visitors having mainly fought a rearguard action during this period. Stacks started brightly, and with Kieran Donaghy a prominent figure they were three points in front after just five minutes with David Mannix on target twice. However, the response from Crokes was immediate and emphatic. Four unanswered points in as many minutes meant that they had edged in front 0-4 to 0-3 after nine minutes.
They increased the margin 0-6 0-3 with Micheal Burns kicking three of their tally, and really, after a pretty bright opening Stacks were struggling to keep pace, especially in relation to the kick outs at both ends. A failure to contest in aerial situations and a lack of input to breaking balls around the midfield sector allowed Crokes a platform to dictate the trend of proceedings, and, while the margin was reduced to a single point, Crokes courtesy of a brace from Daithi Casey were three points in front once again, 0-8 0-5 at the end of the opening quarter.
With Kieran Donaghy influential close to goal, Stacks for a period worked their way back into the game, and, were rewarded in the nineteenth minute when the impressive David Mannix capitalised on a defensive error, and kept his composure before neatly slotting home the only goal of the game. They could, maybe should, have had a second goal shortly afterwards with Shane Murphy denying Kieran Donaghy with a gilt edged chance from close range. Level 0-8 1-5 at that stage both sides exchanged two further points apiece at opposite ends with Shane O’Callaghan shooting his second to leave the encounter deadlocked 0-10 1-7 at half time, and while the home side were, maybe, marginally the better side throughout the opening thirty minutes, Stacks resilience and endeavour suggested that maybe they were poised to make a bold bid for outright victory.
Dr Crokes introduced Colm Cooper and Michael Potts for the second half, and with Tony Brosnan kicking another excellent score, off his left foot from an acute angle, and, Kieran O’Leary following up with two fisted efforts Crokes opened up an early lead, and it was an advantage they subsequently never surrendered.
An incident off the ball, which resulted in Jack O’Shea being forced to depart from the encounter brought proceedings to a halt for some minutes, and, it sparked a period of indiscipline on the part of both sides with the match referee forced to issue a number of yellow cards. The exchanges were pretty fragmented for a period with Stacks failing to make any real headway in attacking situations. Crokes by contrast were more economical and added two more points to increase their lead to five 0-15 1-7 by the end of the third quarter.
The end result had a certain air of inevitability about it at that juncture with Stacks generally reduced to sporadic attacks, which largely consisted of some hopeful deliveries in the direction of Kieran Donaghy on the edge of the small square. They did battle bravely to the final whistle with Michael O’Donnell, Greg Horan, and most especially Conor Jordan offering a lot in terms of their wholehearted input.
David Mannix, with a few very good scores, kept their fading hopes alive, but at the other end Tony Brosnan was the ace in the pack for the locals, and it was fitting that he should seal the deal for them with their final score. It completed a victory which was in the end pretty comfortable and convincing.
Dr Crokes defence at times looked at odds with the situation, especially in the first half, and Stacks on reflection might feel that they should have posted a few more scores during this period.
However, on the resumption Crokes were more compact and in control of proceedings, and when you have a spread of five scorers from play in your attack, with a high percentage return from scoring opportunities, then it demands some really organised and pressurised defending, and Stacks fell short in this respect thereby opening the door for Crokes to display the full range of their attacking capabilities.
DR CROKES: Shane Murphy, Jason Lyne, Mike Moloney, Fionn Fitzgerald, David O’Leary, Alan O’Sullivan, Shane Doolan, Johnny Buckley, Paul Clarke, Micheal Burns (0-4), Gavin O’Shea, Brian Looney (0-2), Tony Brosnan (0-5), Daithi Casey (0-4, 2f), Kieran O’Leary (0-3). Subs: Colm Cooper for P Clarke, Michael Potts for S Doolan, Eoin Brosnan for K O’Leary, David Shaw for M Burns, Brian Fitzgerald for J Lyne.
AUSTIN STACKS: David Hennessy, Denis Mc Elligott, Conor Jordan, Ronan Shanahan, Pa McCarthy, Greg Horan (0-1), Jack O’Shea, Shane Guthrie (0-1), Michael O’Donnell, Shane O’Callaghan (02), Darragh O’Brien (0-1), Shane Carroll, David Mannix (1-5, 0-3f), Kieran Donaghy, Ferdia O’Brien. Subs: Sean Ryan for J O’Shea, Ciaran O’Reilly for S Carroll, Denis Costello for D McElligott.
REFEREE: James O’Sullivan (Firies)