Kerry Senior Football Championship Final – Dr. Crokes 1-15 Austin Stacks 0-11

Clinical Crokes learn from painful past

Dr Crokes 1-15 Austin Stacks 0-11

By Fintan O’Toole for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Monday, October 18, 2010

THEIR pursuit over the last decade has been frustrating and fruitless but yesterday brought atonement for Dr Crokes in the form of their seventh Kerry football title. The Killarney club have endured plenty of anguish since they last held the Bishop Moynihan Cup in 2000 but no one amongst the 10,219 spectators at Austin Stack Park yesterday could deny the legitimacy of their success in this AIB Kerry SFC final. Austin Stacks brought a brilliant bunch of supporters who transformed the venue into a cauldron of colour and noise, but despite a committed effort on the pitch, they were squeezed out by a force with superior football nous.

Dr Crokes absorbed the lessons of the past wisely. The grandeur of county final day did not spook them as they took to the field for their fourth decider in six years whereas a large chunk of the Austin Stacks outfit were entering unchartered territory. That gulf in experience was reflected by the manner in which Dr Crokes settled better. In the opening quarter they had stitched together a 0-5 to 0-1 lead and though Austin Stacks eventually settled, there was an admirable calmness to Dr Crokes play in the finale as they closed the match effectively.

It was pertinent that a team performance won the day for Dr Crokes. In the past there have been accusations that they were guilty of pinning their hopes on the individual input of Colm Cooper. From throw-in yesterday Austin Stacks instructed John Dennis to act as the Gooch’s shadow and at various stages in the first-half, he received assistance in that department from Denis Costelloe and TJ Hogan. Any suspicions that Dr Crokes would struggle at the sight of their go-to guy being double-teamed were quickly dispelled as others picked up the scoring slack.

Midfielder Ambrose O’Donovan, who gave a terrific display, ended the game with four points, three of those fine efforts arriving in the opening period. Chris Brady, the latest attacking gem to roll off their production line, drew frees with his incisive running and he also arced over a stunning 9th minute point after a brilliant cross-field ball by Johnny Buckley. Dr Crokes utilised their spare man impressively with Shane Doolan frequently proving the launch pad for their attacks with his intelligent distribution.

Austin Stacks could have done without that wretched opening after being wounded with injuries before the game. The absence of county man Daniel Bohane’s defensive skills was well-flagged. But the late withdrawal of Graham O’Connell was an additional blow as they missed his presence up front. Their other best finisher Dara Long was well policed by John Payne and was unable to squirm free to come close to replicating the two-goal blast that had felled Dingle in the semi-final. Mikey Collins did prove a thorn in the Dr Crokes rearguard and his persistence and skill to stop a ball going over the sideline in the 27th minute was rewarded with a brilliant point. They sought Kieran Donaghy with frequency from midfield deliveries but the tenacity of Mike Moloney and the assisted covering provided by Luke Quinn and Doolan managed to thwart that danger. Austin Stacks’ decision to return to a more orthodox fifteen before half-time did pay dividends as the experience of Hogan and William Kirby hauled them back into the hunt. Adrift 0-8 to 0-6 at the interval, they were still in the hunt.

Upon the resumption Austin Stacks hopes soared further as they matched Dr Crokes for two points and then Dara Long popped over a free that saw them only trail 0-10 to 0-9. But Dr Crokes’ poise never crumbled and in the heat of battle, their marquee name shone brightest. The improved contributions elsewhere were important on the day but Colm Cooper’s ability to alter the course of the game was instrumental to victory. Not that he was totally anonymous in the first-half – one defence-splitting pass in the 14th minute paved the way for an Ambrose O’Donovan point. But in the second-half, Cooper cut loose with a couple of audacious points before pouncing for the killer blow of the afternoon in the 39th minute. Daithí Casey raced in from the left wing and when he punched a pass across, Cooper neatly slotted past Austin Stacks goalkeeper Martin Moriarty. From that moment Dr Crokes never looked like being overhauled. Austin Stacks required the revitalising tonic of a goal but they never threatened Kieran Cremin with a shot. They perhaps did have cause for complaint when Donaghy was grounded in the 44th minute near goal but after waving away those penalty appeals, Padraig O’Sullivan blew Dara Long for over-carrying in the resultant passage of play. There was to be no silverware bound for Rock Street then despite Austin Stacks relentless battling, man-of-the-match Cooper and O’Donovan supplied the grace notes to victory.

Scorers for Dr Crokes: C Cooper 1-5 (three frees); A O’Donovan, D Casey (three frees) 0-4 each; C Brady, B Looney 0-1 each.

Austin Stacks: D Long 0-5 (four frees); M Collins 0-3; TJ Hogan, S Carroll, K Donaghy 0-1 each.

Subs for Dr Crokes: S O’Neill for Brady (52); B McMahon for Kenneally (56); N O’Connell for Myers (60).

Subs for Austin Stacks: W Guthrie for Leonard (26); F Mangan for Carroll (35); F McNamara for McCarthy (41); D Clifford for Collins (44); Collins for Long (53).

Referee: Padraig O’Sullivan (Firies)