Town Championship Final 

Austin Stacks 1-9 

Kerins O’Rahilly’s 0-9

AUSTIN STACKS overcame old foe Kerins O’Rahilly’s in the Town Championship final played Ballymacelligott on Sunday afternoon, to claim back to back victories in the competition.

Shane O’Callaghan’s goal after three minutes was  the first score in the match and was ultimately the difference between the sides in what was a lacklustre contest.

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That goal came through a familiar route, Kieran Donaghy, fetched a ball around the square and laid off the pass to O’Callaghan who made no mistake finishing to the net.

Throughout this match, Austin Stacks were able to keep that goal advantage ahead of O’Rahilly’s, who despite the best attempts of Barry John Keane, didn’t cause the Stacks defence too much hassle and they were happy to sit back and strike on the counter.

The game lacked the uptempo feel one would expect from these two and it was littered with some poor wides on both sides – the groans from the exasperated crowd made their dissatisfaction known on more than a few occasions.

The first half finished 1-4 to 0-4, O’Rahilly’s remaining in touch with points from, Cormac Coffey, Jack Savage and Barry John Keane at the end of that half.

Two pointed frees from Shane Carroll at the beginning of the first half stretched The Rock’s lead out to five, but Barry John Keane and Giles O’Grady answered back to bring it within a goal again.

Shane O’Callaghan then popped up with two exquisite points inside two minutes. On both occasions, the corner forward collecting the ball and nonchalantly swinging it over from 35 metres out. These were two moments of quality in a match that lacked real cutting edge.

With 15 minutes left and trailing 1-8 to 0-6 it  was clear O’Rahilly’s needed a goal. They built wave after wave of attack but couldn’t fashion an opportunity that would give them a fighting chance.

With four minutes left on the clock, Greg Horan and O’Callaghan tapped over what were the insurance scores. Declan Quill knocked over two frees in the dying moments but referee Jer Lynch, decided enough was enough and blew the match up right on the 60 minute mark.

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Scorers

Austin Stacks: Shane O’Callaghan 1-3, Shane Carroll 0-3 (3f), Greg Horan 0-2, Fiachna Mangan 0-1

Kerins O’Rahilly’s:  Barry John Keane 0-2 (1f) Declan Quill 0-2 (2f) John Ferguson, Cormac Coffey, Jack Savage, Giles O’Grady and Con Barrett 0-1 apiece.