Donaghy drives Stacks rally as Rathmore fall short

DISAPPOINTINGLY the entertainment value from this Kerry SFC quarter-final in Fitzgerald Stadium diminished in a second half of contrasting fortunes.

Rathmore’s challenge stalled while the victors upped the gears on the restart with Kieran Donaghy to the fore.

It was hard luck on the losers who had dream start with a goal from wing-back Brian O’Leary after 25 seconds. And, while Donaghy had signalled his potential threat in the first few Stacks raids, it was Rathmore who continued to make the running over the course of the opening quarter.

They were successful in working the ball quickly out of defence and making steady progress in attack, with Michael O’Riordan impressive in the right corner. However, they lost ground once Stacks started to dominate around the middle, where former Kerry star William Kirby was consistent and TJ Hogan provided support from centre forward.

It meant Rathmore went from leading 1-2 to 0-1 after six minutes to trailing by two points nine minutes later. Crucial to the turnaround was the Stacks’ goal, which was engineered by Donaghy with a superb catch and a perfect lay-off to Dara Long.

Back came Rathmore with two quick scores from O’Riordan to draw level, but while a John Moynihan point gave them a 1-5 to 1-4 lead, poor finishing denied them a few more scores.

Long (son of former Cork star Denny) equalised with a free kick within a minute of the resumption before Donaghy regained the lead for the Tralee side with a spectacular kick.

The game had more than 20 minutes to run, but even at this stage it was starting to look worrying for the young Rathmore team. Daniel Bohan was at his best at centre-back.

Further forward, Stacks sustained a strengthening effort, with Michael Collins contributing four scores over the hour and Hogan again influential.

Donaghy’s strong play was complemented by the efforts of Long and Graham O’Connell and it produced six points without reply to see them advance in comfort.

Scorers for Austin Stacks: D. Long (1-2, one free); M. Collins (0-4); G. O’Connell (0-3, one free); K. Donaghy (0-2); J. Dennis and S. Carroll (0-1 each).

Scorers for Rathmore: B. O’Leary 1-0; M. O’Riordan (0-3, two frees); D. O’Sullivan and J. Moynihan (0-1 each).

AUSTIN STACKS: M. Moriarty; P. McCarthy, D. Leonard, D. Costello; P. Barrett, D. Bohan, J. Dennis; W. Kirby, B. Shanahan; M. Collins, T.J. Hogan (c), P. McCannon; G. O’Connell , K. Donaghy, D. Long.

Subs: D. McElligott for McCannon (second half); D. Mannix for Collins (57); S. Carroll for Long (58).

RATHMORE: J. Cooper; M. O’Sullivan, T. O’Sullivan, J. O’Sullivan (c); B. O’Leary, K. Cahill, P. Murphy; A. O’Mahony, J. Buckley; D. O’Sullivan, G. O’Keeffe, S. Lehane; M. O’Riordan, E. Lawlor, J. Moynihan.

Subs: M. Reen for Lehane (41); P. Reen for O’Riordan (44); C. O’Sullivan for Buckley (51).

Referee: Pat Sheehy (Clounmacon).