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Austin Stacks manager, Stephen Stack. Photo by Dermot Crean.
PREPARATION for Austin Stacks County Championship match against champions South Kerry has not been ideal because of a number of injuries for the Tralee side in key positions.
Manager, Stephen Stack has been left sweating on the fitness of captain Kieran Donaghy along with injuries to Greg Horan and Colin Griffin.
The Austin Stacks manager spoke to Traleetoday.ie about those injury woes and that mouthwatering tie at the weekend which pits the 2014 and 2015 champions against each other.
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“It’s been a very difficult few weeks to be honest with you, but you know that’s where the strength of the panel is tested. We were glad to get over the East Kerry game the last day,” said Stephen Stack. “And I suppose one person’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. The guys that played and came off the bench I thought did very well.”
Kieran Donaghy who is suffering from a quad injury is a major doubt for the game. He sat out last week’s five point victory over East Kerry in Killarney.
“It’s unlikely [that Donaghy will play] but sometimes injuries can just clear up quicker. I would say it’s unlikely but you just don’t know,” said Stack.
Defender, Colin Griffin, took a tumble in the first half of that East Kerry game. Austin Stacks are waiting on the results of the scan to assess to true extent of Griffin’s injury.
“We actually had another four players last week who couldn’t take part, either in the game or off the bench. Happily we have a couple of those back,” he said.
South Kerry’s defeat of Kerins O’Rahillys proved an ideal opportunity for Stacks players and management to have a look at their opponents.
“A lot of our players were at the game and said they were hugely impressive, as were Strand Road, indeed, it was only a one point game. That little bit of experience they would have built up over the years – not just last year. A lot of the players would have won championships prior to that.”
“They’re backboned by the St Mary’s team that won an All-Ireland and St Michaels/Foilmore who, not so long ago, won an All-Ireland as well. So there’s a huge amount of quality in the South Kerry team. They’re at home and they’re county champions so it’s going to be a huge challenge for us,” he added.
“We’re looking forward to it as well, because these are the games you train for and the prize is very big as it provides a straight route to the quarter-finals. It’s a huge game for both teams, you would be anxious to try and get a passage into the quarter-final by the direct route if you could,” he said.
• South Kerry v Austin Stacks 2.30pm, Cahersiveen.
