Gavin O’Connor was in Killarney to see Austin Stacks defeat East Kerry in the Garveys Supervalu Kerry SFC first round match on Saturday…
Austin Stacks 1-16 (19)
East Kerry 2-8 (14)
DESPITE a minor scare in the first half – when East Kerry went six ahead thanks to two rapid fire goals – Austin Stacks looked comfortable in this championship opener in Lewis Road, Killarney.
David Mannix fired over nine points, seven of which were frees, while Fiachna Mangan had the scoreboard ticking over as well, hitting 1-2 from play.
At half-time The Rock went in only a point to the good, 1-9 (12) to 2-5 (11). The Tralee side though, outscored their divisional counterparts by 0-7 to 0-3 in the second half, with six of those scores coming unanswered in the final 15 minutes of the match, emphasising how the East Kerry challenge petered out in the final stretch.
Continued below…
The first half however was a competitive encounter. Austin Stacks started without Kieran Donaghy who was named on the bench and did not feature.
Shane O’Callaghan got the first score of the match for Stacks which was followed by two scores in a minute by East Kerry’s, Lee O’Donoghue and Michael McCarthy.
The Rock replied with two of their own, a pointed free by David Mannix and a well taken point by Wayne Guthrie who along with his brother Shane were partnered up in midfield.
After 20 minutes the teams were level 0-3 apiece but then East Kerry then set the cat among the pigeons by netting twice in 60 seconds.
First they were awarded a penalty after a foot block by returning Stacks defender, Ronan Shanahan. The spotkick was dispatched by Jeff O’Donoghue and a minute later Lee O’Donoghue and Ronan Buckley combined to put East Kerry five points ahead with less than ten minutes left in the half.
The Austin Stacks response was quick and impressive, hitting 1-4 without reply as they eased any fears of an upset.
Points from Pa McCarthy, David Mannix, Wayne Guthrie and Mannix again led up to a nicely worked goal finished off by Fiachna Mangan.
For the goal, Shane O’Callaghan showed great vision to time a looping handpass to a darting Mangan cutting in by the sideline who rattled the net with a precise and firm finish.
From being a five points down, Stacks were now one point in front. The sides traded two points apiece at the end of the first half.
David Mannix kicked the first point of a second half to put The Rock in front by two. East Kerry managed to pull back the lead once more on 42nd minute, thanks to three unanswered scores from Evan Cronin, Michael McCarthy, Jack Sherwood.
But with 15 minutes remaining Stacks found that extra gear and ended the game with six points without reply, four of which coming from Mannix dead balls and two points from play by Fiachna Mangan.
Shane O’Callaghan, hitting two points from play, just about edged David Mannix as The Rock’s best performer. O’Callaghan linked up well with his fellow forwards and got two classy scores along with a goal assist.
An assured performance by title contenders, Stephen Stack’s side will be pleased at how his side pulled away and showed that extra bit of fitness and quality in the final quarter. Scroll down for more action shots…
Scorers
Austin Stacks: David Mannix 0-9 (7f), Fiachna Mangan 1-2, Shane O’Callaghan 0-2, Wayne Guthrie 0-2 Pa McCarthy 0-1
East Kerry: Lee O’Donoghue 0-3 (3f), Ronan Buckley 1-0, Jeff O’Donoghue 1 penalty, Jack Sherwood, Michael McCarthy, Jack Sherwood, Michael Foley and Evan Cronin
Austin Stacks
1. Darragh O’Brien
7. Jack O’Shea
3. Fearghal McNamara
17. Ronan Shanahan
5. Pa McCarthy
6. Conor Jordan
2. Colin Griffin
8. Wayne Guthrie
9. Shane Guthrie
10. Fiachna Mangan
12. Michael O’Donnell
19. Daniel Bohan
13. David Mannix
14. Shane O’Callaghan
24. Alan Nestor
Substitutes
Barry Walsh for Colin Griffin (11min)
Sean Ryan for Daniel Bohan (Half Time)
Shane Carroll for Michael O’Donnell (45min)
Darragh O’Brien for Alan Nestor (64min)
East Kerry
1. Colin Myers
2. Darren Brosnan
3. Matthew Moynihan
4. Dan O’Donoghue
5. Stephen Foley
6. Cian Horan
18. Michael McCarthy
8. Jack Sherwood
9. Gary O’Sullivan
10. Michael Foley
11. Jeff O’Donoghue
12. Shane Lynch
13. Lee O’Donoghue
14. Dara Roche
15. Ronan Buckley
Substitutes
Evan Cronin for Gary O’Sullivan (Half Time)
Padraig De Bruin for Michael Foley (44min)
Michael S. Murphy for Dara Roche (44min)
Shane Courtney for Ronan Buckley (52min)
Darragh O’Brien not Ferdia.