Kerry County Senior Football Championship Final – Dr Crokes 4-16 Austin Stacks 0-12

Crokes eye Mitchels’ five-in-a-row after Stacks put to sword

Dr Crokes 4-16 Austin Stacks 0-12

By John Fogarty GAA Correspondent for the Irish Examiner newspaper

This is what a monopoly looks like and for Dr Crokes it’s what it must feel like this morning. As their fourth consecutive annexing of the Bishop Moynihan Cup, their dominance of Kerry football has never been stronger — but neither has it been as pronounced as this latest victory, a ruthless 16-point execution of a team that had been posting high scores of their own in reaching yesterday’s decider. It was five points better than their winning margin over Dingle last year. Austin Stacks were made to feel like second class citizens as the champions not only played around and above them, as had been expected, but through them too.

According to losing manager Stephen Stack, it was Dr Crokes’ newfound physicality that was the difference between the sides. To use that fact as the sole basis for this emphatic victory would do a disservice to the skill and poise exhibited by the Killarney team. Not only was their delivery of ball into the forward line better, but their teamwork, especially around the middle, unparalleled in a compelling show of creation and industry. But how much they will glean from it other than the sense of achievement won’t be seen for another couple of weeks at the very least. Castlehaven manager Finbarr Santry and defender Damien Cahalane were among the west Cork scouts keeping a watchful eye on proceedings.

As early as last Sunday evening, they had anticipated Dr Crokes would be their Munster quarter-final opponents, but even they would have been taken aback by just how emphatic Crokes were in their suffocation of this game. Brian Hurley will present Crokes’ defence with a problem to solve and, like Nemo Rangers, the Kerry winners are unlikely to drop a sweeper in front of him. But when they can blaze past a genuinely good side like Stacks with relative ease, they might argue they can afford to ignore such considerations.

If Stacks had sought to gain a psychological advantage in wearing an alternative jersey, different to the one agreed with the county board, the act backfired as Crokes led from the outset, Brian Looney’s effort 16 seconds in the first of five scores inside the first seven minutes. The best of them was a dazzling pick-up and run by man of the match Daithi Casey in the fifth minute and while Stacks fired back with points from Paul O’Donoghue and Shane Callaghan, it was just a brief respite for them.

The next five scores were all Crokes, Kieran O’Leary and Colm Cooper each contributing a brace before Chris Brady chipped in with one. Frustration grew in the Stacks’ rank with a series of late tackles, Kieran Donaghy warned by referee Seamus Mulvihill without picking up a yellow card. His county colleague Eoin Brosnan had the better of him in a lot of exchanges. Darragh Long was sacrificed too after being beaten by his marker, John Payne, once too often. Stacks’ corner-back Fergal McNamara ended a 12-minute scoreless spell only for his marker Cooper to find the net with the first of Crokes’ four goals. Shane Carroll took some of the sting out of the score with two points but the difference was still a weighty seven points, augmented to eight by O’Leary just before the break to make it 1-11 to 0-6.

In front of a 7,142 crowd, the game as a contest was over by that stage but even Stacks’ most optimistic supporters were resigned to their fate when a dashing Casey run set up Brady to palm the ball to the net. Following a similar plot to Brady’s goal, another blistering O’Leary solo was enough to create the platform for O’Leary to beat Darragh O’Brien. Thirteen points up with 22 minutes left to play, the only thing left to do was marvel at Crokes’ superiority as Stacks almost stood back as if to sample it for themselves. Crokes were celebrating another goal in the 46th minute when O’Leary turned provider for Casey.

It was Crokes’ third palmed goal, an indication of the inroads they made in carrying ball in the second half compared to the first, when they favoured kick-passes. Each side picked off four points in the remaining 15 or so minutes, three Carroll frees giving Stacks’ side of the scoreboard the smallest semblance of respectability. But nothing they assembled in consolation managed to scramble the strength of the message sent out by what is now a historic Dr Crokes team.

Scorers for Dr Crokes: C Cooper (2f), K O’Leary 1-4 each; D Casey 1-2 (0-1f), C Brady 1-1, J Buckley 0-2, B Looney, K Ward, J Doolan 0-1 each.

Scorers for Austin Stacks: S Carroll 0-5 (5f); B Shanahan 0-2; P O’Donoghue, S Callaghan, F McNamara, D Mannix, G Horan 0-1 each.

DR CROKES: D Moloney; K Ward, L Quinn, J Payne; S Myers, F Fitzgerald, E Brosnan; A O’Donovan, J Buckley; A O’Sullivan, D Casey, B Looney; K O’Leary, C Cooper, C Brady.

Subs: J Doolan for C Brady (46), M Moloney for L Quinn (50), D O’Leary for S Myers, G O’Shea for A O’Sullivan (both 51), S Doolan for J Payne (55).

AUSTIN STACKS: D O’Brien; J Dennis, F McNamara, D Bohan; R Shanahan, D McElligott, P McCarthy; K Donaghy, B Shanahan; G Horan, P O’Donoghue, M Collins; D Long, S Carroll, S Callaghan.

Subs: D Mannix for D Long (22), TJ Hogan for R Shanahan (37), C O’Connell for D McElligott (40), C Jordon for J Dennis (43), W Kirby for S Callaghan (46).

Referee: S Mulvihill (St Senans)

Dr Crokes complete four-in-a-row in Kerry with 16-point win over Stacks

Dr Crokes 4-16 Austin Stacks 0-12

Report by Fintan O’Toole for thescore.ie

DR CROKES CRUISED to a fourth successive Kerry senior football title with a dominant display over Austin Stacks in this afternoon’s decider at Fitzgerald Stadium. It was all too easy for the champions who demonstrated their status as the leading club side in the Kingdom in style. Colm Cooper and Kieran O’Leary fired 1-4 apiece as Dr Crokes crushed Austin Stacks, who last won the title in 1994, by 16 points.

Now Dr Crokes will turn their attentions to the provincial and national stage. They have won the last two Munster club titles but fell short at the All-Ireland semi-final stage for the last two years. First up in Munster will be Cork champions Castlehaven on November 3rd, in what will be a repeat of last year’s provincial decider. Dr Crokes secured their passage to that stage after a game which they controlled from an early stage. They raced into a 0-5 to 0-1 lead by the 7th minute before Austin Stacks briefly ralled to cut the gap to two points.

However Dr Crokes then took over to hit five point without reply before Colm Cooper smashed home the first goal of the game in the 25th minute. Shane O’Carroll grabbed a brace of points for Austin Stacks but they still faced a mountain to climb when trailing by eight points at the interval. The second-half saw Dr Crokes in complete control again as they ran away to a comfortable win. Chris Brady notched their second goal in the 31st minute after a terrific run by Daithi Casey to set it up. Then Kieran O’Leary bagged the third goal of the game in the 38th minute before Casey raised their fourth green flag six minutes later.

Scorers for Dr Crokes: Kieran O’Leary, Colm Cooper (0-3f) 1-4 each, Daithi Casey 1-2, Chris Brady 1-1, Johnny Buckley 0-2, Jamie Doolan, Kieran Ward, Brian Looney 0-1 each.

Scorers for Austin Stacks: Shane Carroll 0-4 (0-1f), Barry Shanahan, Shane O’Carroll 0-2 each, Paul O’Donoghue, Fearghal McNamara, David Mannix, Greg Horan 0-1 each.

DR CROKES: David Moloney; Kieran Ward, Luke Quinn, John Payne; Eoin Brosnan, Fionn Fitzgerald, Shane Myers; Ambrose O’Donovan, Johnny Buckley; Alan O’Sullivan, Daithi Casey, Brian Looney; Kieran O’Leary, Colm Cooper, Chris Brady.

Subs: Jamie Doolan for Brady, Michael Moloney for Quinn, Gavin O’Shea for O’Sullivan, David O’Leary for Myers, Shane Doolan for Payne.

AUSTIN STACKS: Darragh O’Brien; Fearghal McNamara, Daniel Bohane, John Dennis; Pa McCarthy, Denis McElligott, Ronan Shanahan; Barry Shanahan, Shane Carroll; Greg Horan, Paul O’Donoghue, Michael Collins; Darragh Long, Kieran Donaghy, Shane O’Callaghan.

Subs: David Mannix for Long, Kieran O’Connell for McElligott, William Kirby for O’Callaghan.

Referee: Seamus Mulvihilll (St Senan’s)

The Garveys Supervalu Senior Football Championship Final Press Pack

• Throw-in Sunday in Fitzgerald Stadium at 3pm and Curtain raiser is the Novice Club Championship Final between Templenoe and Listry at 1pm

• Referee is Seamus Mulvihill of St Senans

• Amhrán na bhFiann will be sung by Aoife Ní Choileain (Aibhistín de Staic)

• Both sides will wear their alternative strips – Dr Crokes white with yellow hoop and black togs and Austin Stacks gold with black shoulder and black togs

• Musical Entertainment will be provided by the Killorglin and District Pipe Band

• At half time, the St Kierans team, winners of the County Championship in 1988, will be introduced to the crowd. At midfield on that team was one Mick Galwey.

• Match Programme is produced by Bórd na nÓg Chiarraí

Austin Stacks V Dr Crokes – Did you know?

Austin Stacks

• Austin Stacks have won the County Championship 11 times, their last in 1994 – against Dr Crokes after a replay.

• The legendary Joe Barrett captained Stacks in each final in their 3-in-a-row from 1930 to 1932

• Should Austin Stacks win today’s final, they will equal the record for the most titles won – currently held by Laune Rangers (12)

• Darragh Long is son of Denny Long All Ireland winning midfielder with Cork in 1973 and winner of 3 County Championships with Austin Stacks in the ‘70s

• Paul Lucey, current selector with Stacks, was manager of the 1994 winning side

• Pa Laide, another current selector, was on the 1994 winning Stacks team. Pa won an All Ireland Minor medal in 1988, an All Ireland Under 21 in 1990 and a Senior medal in 1997 with Kerry

• Austin Stacks are captained by Denis McElligott

Dr Crokes

• The sides only other meeting in a final was in 2010 when Dr Crokes won on a score of 1-15 to 0-11. Since then, Dr Crokes have defeated Austin Stacks at the quarter final stage in both 2011 and 2012

• Dr Crokes have won the County Championship 9 times and are bidding for their 4th title in a row – the last Club to win 4-in-a-row was John Mitchels who won 5 titles between 1959 and 1963 and added another in 1966 for good measure

• In 2000, Colm Cooper, then a mere 17 year old, won his first County Championship medal in the company of his brothers Vince and Danny who were playing, and Mike and Mark who were subs.

• Current goalkeeper, David Moloney won a Co. Champ medal as a midfielder in 2000, and played most of his club football outfield before retiring in 2009. He came out of retirement in May of last year and won another county medal 6 months later in the number 1 Jersey. He won an All Ireland Under 21 medal in 1998 with Kerry as a goalkeeper, saving a last minute penalty against Cork in the Munster semi Final to win the game.

• Ambrose O’Donovan is son of Centenary Kerry Captain, Ambrose senior, and lives but a stone’s throw from the Stadium.

• Michael Moloney is Dr Crokes Senior Captain for 2013.

• Dr Crokes selectors, Noel O’Leary and Vince Casey played in the 1992 All Ireland Club final victory over Thomas Davis.

County Championship Titles

Austin Stacks have won the County title 11 times;

1928 Austin Stacks 3-4 Kerins O’Rahillys 0- 7

1930 Austin Stacks 4-4 Kerins O’Rahillys 2-5

1931 Austin Stacks 2-7 John Mitchels 1-3

1932 Austin Stacks 2-3 North Kerry 1-5

1936 Austin Stacks 0-6 Kerins O’Rahillys 0-4

1973 Austin Stacks 2-8 Na hAghasaigh 1-6

1975 Austin Stacks 1-7 Mid Kerry 1-4

1976 Austin Stacks 1-14 Kenmare 1-7

1979 Austin Stacks 1-11 Castleisland 0-9

1986 Austin Stacks 1-11 Killarney 1-7

1994 Austin Stacks 0-12 Dr Crokes 1-5 (R) 0-13 0-13 (D)

Dr Crokes have won the County Title 9 times(inc, two 3-in-a-rows)

1901 Dr. Crokes 1-2 Caherciveen 0-2

1912 Dr. Crokes 1-6 Tralee Parnells 0-0

1913 Dr. Crokes 3-1 Kilcummin 1-0

1914 Dr. Crokes 1-2 Mitchels 1-0

1991 Dr. Crokes 2-10 Desmonds 1-10

2000 Dr. Crokes 0-7 An Gaeltacht 0-6

2010 Dr. Crokes 1-15 Austin Stacks 0-11

2011 Dr Crokes 2-08 Mid Kerry 0-9

2012 Dr Crokes 2-13 Dingle 0-8

The Garveys Supervalu Senior Football Championship Final

Finals by 10 – Results

2003 An Ghaeltacht 0-12 Laune Rangers 2-4 (R)

2004 South Kerry 1-13 Laune Rangers 2-5

2005 South Kerry 0-12 Dr Crokes 1-6

2006 South Kerry 0-12 Dr Crokes 1-8

2007 Feale Rangers 1-4 South Kerry 0-6

2008 Mid Kerry 1-7 Kerins O’Rahilly’s 0-9 (R)

2009 South Kerry 1-8 Dr Crokes 0-10

2010 Dr Crokes 1-15 Austin Stacks 0-11

2011 Dr Crokes 2-8 Mid Kerry 0-9

2012 Dr Crokes 2-13 Dingle 0-8

The Garveys Supervalu Senior Football Championship

Finals by 10 – Captains

2003 Darragh O’Sé (An Ghaeltacht)

2004 Maurice Fitzgerald (South Kerry)

2005 Declan O’Sullivan (South Kerry)

2006 Paul O’Connor (South Kerry)

2007 Eamonn Fitzmaurice (Feale Rangers)

2008 Mike Burke (Mid Kerry)

2009 Stephen O’Sullivan (South Kerry)

2010 Brian Looney (Dr Crokes)

2011 Luke Quinn (Dr Crokes)

2012 Kieran O’Leary (Dr Crokes)

The Garveys Supervalu Senior Football Championship

Finals by 10 – Man of the Match

2003 Tomas O’Sé (An Ghaeltacht)

2004 John Sugrue (South Kerry)

2005 Maurice Fitzgerald (South Kerry)

2006 Ronán O’Connor (South Kerry)

2007 Eamonn Fitzmaurice (Feale Rangers)

2008 Donnchadh Walsh (Mid Kerry)

2009 Declan O’Sullivan (South Kerry)

2010 Colm Cooper (Dr Crokes)

2011 Luke Quinn (Dr Crokes)

2012 Brian Looney (Dr Crokes)