Tag Archives: AIB Club Championship

GAA, News

PHOTOS/VIDEO: How Austin Stacks v Slaughtneil Played Out On Twitter

IT wasn’t to be for Austin Stacks, but people from all over Ireland tuned into watch the All-Ireland semi-final against Slaughtneil.

Many of them took to twitter to show their appreciation for a brilliant game filled with drama, and played in a fantastic atmosphere.

‘The Poznan’ or on this occasion ‘The Portlaoise’ got an airing before throw in.

The players arrived and programmes are scanned.

Billy Sheehan, had a little helper leading the chants.

It was difficult to understand, how the Slaughtneil player got away without a black card.

15 minutes in the half things were looking good for the Rock.

Slaughtneil, clawed their way back and the sides went in level at the end of the first half.

The Donaghy shoulder on Chris Bradley was crunching. Word has come through that the collision resulted in a broken collar-bone for Bradley.

But it wasn’t to be for the Stacks, commiserations came from far and wide.

GAA, Sport

PHOTOS: Five Talking Points From The Big Game

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Gavin O’Connor looks at the main talking points in yesterday’s Austin Stacks v Slaughtneil AIB All-Ireland Club Semi-final in Portlaoise… 

1. The Referee

It’s such a pity that, in what was such an enthralling game, the main topic of conversion at the end is the referee which the Austin Stacks team and fans can feel rightly hard done by.

On three occasions, Kieran Donaghy, was dragged to the ground by his marker, Chris McKaigue, twice this resulted in a penalty and even though McKaigue had committed a black card offence three times in a row he remained on the park.

The Slaughtneil number six eventually was moved off Donaghy, but he would go on to score a point in the final quarter of the second half.

Another glaring decision was in the dying moments of the match, Shane O’Callaghan, was adjudged to have picked the ball off the ground when he was clearly pushed in the back before hand.

This would have resulted in a 20 yard free on the left hand side which would have levelled the game. Slaughtneil on balance were marginally the better side, but the Stacks and their legion fans did not deserve some of the poor officiating.

Continued below…

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Kieran Donaghy, is halled to the ground in the square for a third time by Christopher McKaigue. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Kieran Donaghy, is pulled to the ground in the square for a third time by Christopher McKaigue. Photo by Dermot Crean.

2. Missed opportunities 

Of course one will stick out in people’s minds above all others.

In the lead up to Shane Carroll’s late miss,  it was felt the game had turned in the Rock’s favour.

Donaghy floored Chris Bradley with an unmerciful shoulder which sent the Derry man to the sidelines. Bradley been one of Slaughtneil’s best players so it would have been a major loss for the Derry side going into extra-time, but it was not to be.

I’m not going to dwell on them, but there were plenty of missed chances in the match which would have brought the Rock safely into extra-time.

To scape-goat Shane Carroll, would be just wrong, considering he was one of the few players who could get the ball close to the Slaughtneil goal-mouth and chipped in an excellent point in the first half.

Shane Carroll is also Stacks top scorer across the entire campaign, so he did his bit to get them there in the first place.

Shane O'Callaghan, put's his hand's on his head after his goal attempt goes wide of the post, Daniel Bohane, watches on. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Shane O’Callaghan, put’s his hands on his head after his goal attempt goes wide of the post, Daniel Bohane, watches on. Photo by Dermot Crean.

3. Outplayed in midfield

It was clear Austin Stacks were losing the battle in midfield early on. With the Rock coughing up a lot of possession in the centre of the park in the first ten minutes, the move to switch an isolated, Kieran Donaghy, back into the mixer was certainly on the cards.

But Stephen Stack, held firm to his convictions, keeping ‘the Star’ outside the square and was duly rewarded with two penalties to put the Stacks in the driving seat.

At one stage in the first half, Stacks led by six points, but that was trimmed back when Slaughtneil’s Barry McGuigan rebounded the ball to the net with a minute left in the half.

It was setup, by Patsy Bradley, who typified their domination in the middle third by winning a Stacks kick out and bursting forward in the lead up to the goal. An older more experienced head around the centre may have tipped the scale back in the balance for Stacks.

Kieran Donaghy, attempts to create something under the close watch of Brendan Rodgers and Karl McKaigue. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Kieran Donaghy attempts to create something with David Mannix under the close watch of, Slaughtneil’s Christopher and Karl McKaigue. Photo by Dermot Crean.

4. The incredible support and atmosphere 

It was a last hurrah for the Austin Stacks support who have been the talk of the championship. The players and management showed their gratitude when they stayed to clap the raucous crowd in the stand in Portlaoise who were broken, but unbowed.

Though they didn’t possess the razzmatazz of the Rock, the Derry champs brought with them a great support as well. With the two sections segregated in the stands it almost brought a soccer feel to the occasion with fans trading cheers, as committed to their cause in the stand as the players were out on the pitch.

Time to take a breather now, who knows what 2015 will bring?

 

Austin Stacks fans make there way through Portlaoise before the match on route to O'Moore Park. Photo by Gavin O'Connor.
Austin Stacks fans make their way through Portlaoise before the match on route to O’Moore Park. Photo by Dermot Crean.

5. Be proud

Austin Stacks have made incredible strides since losing to Dr Crokes by 16 points in the 2013 county final. The side got noticeably leaner and meaner in the intervening months that ticked by. They added steel to their game and gave as good as they got on the highest stage in club football.

To finally win a county title after a 20 year famine, restored a lot of pride on Rock Street, to go on the journey they have since is nothing short of legendary. The old photos of Sheehy, Power and O’Keeffe have new company on the walls of the Connolly Park clubhouse and rightfully so.

Scroll down for match action photos…

Greg Horan shoots for a score in the second half. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Greg Horan shoots for a score in the second half. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Kieran Donaghy, had a monumental tussle with the Slaughtneil defence. Photo by Gavin O'Connor.
Kieran Donaghy, had a monumental tussle with the Slaughtneil defence. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Slaughtneil's, Brendan Rodgers get's handsie with David Mannix. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Slaughtneil’s Brendan Rodgers gets handsie with David Mannix. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Shane O'Callaghan breaks the tackle. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Shane O’Callaghan breaks the tackle. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Austin Stacks captain, Barry Shanahan, make's his way off the pitch after the final whistle. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Austin Stacks captain, Barry Shanahan, makes his way off the pitch after the final whistle. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Relief for, Pa McCarthy, who slammed home Stacks first goal after his penalty was saved by, Antoin McMullan. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Relief for Pa McCarthy who slammed home Stacks first goal after his penalty was saved by, Antoin McMullan. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Minutes later, Pa MCarthy made no mistake with his second penalty of the day. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Minutes later, Pa MCarthy made no mistake with his second penalty of the day. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Stephen Stack, marshals his troops. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Stephen Stack, marshals his troops. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Barry McGuigan, pokes home the Slaughtneil goal after it rebounded off the post. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Barry McGuigan, pokes home the Slaughtneil goal after it rebounded off the post. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Kieran Donaghy, rises high with Brendan Rodgers to try and win vital possession. Photo by Dermot Crean.
Kieran Donaghy, rises high with Brendan Rodgers to try and win vital possession. Photo by Dermot Crean.

 

GAA

The Rock Will Rise Again To Book Date With Destiny

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Stacks_analysis_1__1416305779_68413Gavin O’Connor says it’ll be hard and it won’t be pretty, but Austin Stacks will overcome Slaughtneil on Sunday in the All-Ireland Club Semi-Final in Portlaoise…

ROCK STREET is a long way away from the foot of the Carntogher mountain.

Between Austin Stacks and Slaughtneil it’s as much north v south as rural v urban.

The village of Slaughtneil consists of the GAA grounds and the Carntogher Association, a group which promotes the Irish language and culture in the area.

And that’s it…not even a shop.

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The type of surroundings both teams call home may be different, but their stories are similar. This time last year, both sides would have been more than happy with a county title. Now they’re on the verge of something that may define their club’s history, something truly unique.

The team news for Stacks is it’s not known yet if Ronan Shanahan’s shoulder will have healed in time for Sunday’s match. Slaughtneil are happy to report a complete clean bill of health.

In the lead-up to the game, Stephen Stack has spoken about Slaughtneil’s dominance in most of their games around the middle of the park and how it was vital they attacked the Ulster side where they are strongest.

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If this is the case, I think we can take it that Donaghy will be deployed solely around the centre-field in order to swing the tide in the Rock’s favour.

Both sides are comfortable using a defensive blanket system with an onus on counter-attack. Expect long intervals of sideways passing and cagey, dogged stuff.

The Austin Stacks support will be as loud as ever in O'Moore Park Portlaoise this Sunday. Photo by Dermot Crean.
The Austin Stacks support will be as loud as ever in O’Moore Park Portlaoise this Sunday. Photo by Dermot Crean.

Stacks have been notoriously bad starters in the championship campaign. This surely will be something Slaughtneil will be privy to. It’s also an aspect of their game Stephen Stack will have worked hard to eradicate over the last couple of months.

Slaughtneil picked up their first Ulster title last November against a fancied Omagh side who beat club football kingpins, Crossmaglen Rangers.

On their way to that win, the Derry side secured their second county title ever.

Their main men are the Bradleys of Patsy, Paul and Chris. Slaughtneil won seven Gaelic Life Ulster Club All-Stars with Patsy Bradley winning player of the year. No mean feat in arguably the most competitive province in the country.

On the sideline they are led by, Mickey Moran, a man well used to managing at inter-county level, having had three stints in the Derry hot-seat along with spells in Donegal, Sligo, Mayo and Leitrim.

The lack of high scoring is a worry for Austin Stacks. They have a decent spread of scorers, but no one forward who can really shoot the lights out. Their defence and workrate has been their main component to getting this far.

The bookies and most of the tipsters have Slaughtneil as favourites. I always feel a Kerry side going in as underdogs is worth three points in a match at least.

The Donaghy factor is a huge as well, you just hope he hasn’t lost that magic touch over Christmas.

It doesn’t feel to me that The Rock’s adventure is going to end this Sunday.

It’s going to be hard, it may not be pretty, but they’ve proven themselves time and again against the odds.

Verdict – Austin Stacks by 2 points

GAA

“We Haven’t Taken Our Foot Off The Pedal” Says Stacks Boss

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Stephen Stack. Photo by Dermot Crean
Austin Stacks manager, Stephen Stack.

Gavin O’Connor caught up with Austin Stacks boss, Stephen Stack, to find out how preparations are going for the All-Ireland semi-final next month…

THE countdown is well and truly on for Austin Stacks date in the All-Ireland semi-final against Ulster champions, Slaughtneil, which is now just five weeks away.

A great challenge for Austin Stacks manager, Stephen Stack, is keeping the momentum going with the huge layoff of 11 weeks from Munster final to All-Ireland semi-final.

“We’ve been working hard over the Christmas. I think we took three or four days off, but the lads have been working away very diligently over the Christmas period. We’ve never taken our foot off the pedal after taking ten days off after the Munster Final, which I think the lads needed,” he said.

The match against the Derry men will take place over Valentine’s weekend, but whether it is to be played on the Saturday or Sunday is still up in the air.

Before Christmas, Slaughtneil put in a request to the GAA for the game to be switched to the Sunday because of a wedding. At this point there has been no news on whether the request has been accepted.

The venue at this point has also still not been clarified, despite the general assumption it will be played in Portlaoise.

Austin Stacks have a number of players who will be balancing inter-county and club commitments over the coming months, chiefly Kieran Donaghy with the seniors, Greg Horan and Conor Jordan with the U21’s and Denis McElligott who will be on Sigerson Cup duty with IT Tralee.

“I’ve been talking to Eamonn Fitzmaurice and I will be speaking with Darragh O’Se this week along with the lads who are playing with college teams. We have an arrangement with all of them to have them most of the time, but not exclusively, but that’s only fair to them as well,” said the Stacks boss.

“Obviously when it comes closer to the semi-final we’ll have them. There will be games with other teams our lads will be available for and other games where they absolutely won’t, but we’re not going to be falling out over it,” he said.