Injury-ravaged Dr Crokes defeat rivals Stacks in extra-time thriller

Kerry SFC: Dr Crokes 3-19 Austin Stacks 2-17

Eoghan Cormican

Twenty minutes later than should have been the case, Dr Crokes eventually booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Kerry football championship.

Five clear five minutes into second-half stoppages, Crokes’ non-existent game management and a pair of really poor injury-time wides were punished when their opponents came from nowhere to kick 1-2 at the death and drag this behind-closed-doors fixture to extra-time. 

Stacks, who looked to be chasing a lost cause for large swathes of the second period, began extra time as they had finished normal time, the outstanding young Sean Quilter throwing over a free before earning a placed-ball effort which fellow substitute Darragh O’Brien converted to move the Tralee side 2-14 to 2-12.

Having been thrown off-kilter by the concession of 1-4 without reply, it was one of the more experienced heads in the Crokes camp, Kieran O’Leary, who steadied those around him by first winning a free which Tony Brosnan converted and then providing the assist for Brian Looney’s equaliser.

And although Jack O’Shea would subsequently edge Stacks back in front, it was the last time they were to lead.

A pair of Brosnan frees, one of which was again earned by O’Leary, handed Crokes a slender advantage at the quick turnaround and their place in the last eight was belatedly secured when Brosnan dispatched his second penalty of the night in empty Austin Stack Park following a foul on corner-back David Naughton.

The most obvious positive of the evening from a Crokes perspective was that they were able to get a win despite being without so many key players because of injury.

Gavin White, Daithi Casey, Jordan Kiely, and David Shaw are just some of the names who were absent here.

What will have greatly frustrated them is how they threw away a winning hand late in the second-half.

Even allowing for the resilience shown by Stacks to claw their way back into proceedings, this game should not have gone to extra-time.

Deadlocked at the break

Crokes will also have to take a look at Micheál Burns' red card and decide whether they want to appeal the sending-off ahead of their next outing.

Deadlocked at the break, last year’s beaten county finalists had opened up a five-point gap by the 54th minute thanks to four-in-a-row from Bronan before the same player provided the pass for a Brian Looney goal. 

Sean Quilter, who won a Corn Uí Mhuirí with Tralee CBS earlier this year, came off the bench to devastating effect for Stacks, the youngster kicking the two points which brought the Tralee men level with Crokes at 2-12 apiece seven minutes into injury-time after Kieran Donaghy's 65th minute goal had revived their cause. 

Leaving aside their failure to fully capitalise on the breeze which was behind them in the opening half, Austin Stacks would have been the more pleased with the 1-5 apiece interval scoreline. 

They had come from a position of being three down after 18 minutes to draw level by the time Jonathan Griffin sounded the interval whistle, while also holding their opponents scoreless during this 16-minute period.

They’ll know themselves, however, they could have been ahead at the break, kicking as they did four first-half wides and dropping a further three short.

Either side of Donaghy in the Stacks full-forward line was the lively corner-forward pair of Ferdia O’Brien and Shane O’Callaghan, both men finding the target during the opening half an hour.

Joseph O’Connor kicked the leveller shortly before half-time, the midfielder also responsible for their green flag.

His shot, which deflected off Crokes full-back Michael Moloney on its way to the net, came at the end of a well-worked move involving Michael O’Gara and O’Callaghan.

At the other end, Micheál Burns was by far the most productive Crokes forward in the opening half.

He sniped a pair from play, with Brosnan finding the net from the penalty spot after Brian Looney had been upended. 

Brosnan would grow more and more influential as proceedings wore on.

Scorers for Dr Crokes: T Brosnan (2-10, 2-0 pen, 0-6 frees); B Looney (1-1); M Burns (0-3, 0-1 free); C Doncel, G O’Shea, K O’Leary, C O’Regan, A O’Sullivan (0-1 each). 

Scorers for Austin Stacks: S Quilter (0-5, 0-2 frees, 0-1 mark); D O’Brien (0-4, 0-3 frees); J O’Connor (1-1); K Donaghy (1-0); C Griffin, J Morgan, D Casey, W Guthrie (0-1 free), F O’Brien (0-1 free), S O’Callaghan, J O’Shea (0-1 each). 

Dr Crokes: S Murphy; C Fitzgerald, M Moloney, D Naughton; D O’Leary, F Fitzgerald, M Potts; J Buckley, M O’Shea; M Burns, G O’Shea, B Looney; C Doncel, T Brosnan, B Courtney.

Subs: C O’Regan for Courtney (38 mins); J Payne for D O’Leary (42); A O’Sullivan for Looney (55); K O’Leary for Doncel (60); B Looney for Burns (60); C Doncel for Looney (78); B Fitzgerald for O’Sullivan (80).

Austin Stacks: W Guthrie; B Shanahan, C Griffin, P O’Sullivan; J Morgan, R Shanahan, D Casey; J O’Connor, B O’Sullivan; M O’Gara, G Horan, D Fitzmaurice; F O’Brien, K Donaghy, S O’Callaghan. 

Subs: D Mannix for Fitzmaurice (34 mins); S Quilter for F O’Brien (42); D O’Brien for O’Callaghan (50); D McMahon for B Shanahan (52); C Jordan for B O’Sullivan (54); J O’Shea for R Shanahan (64, inj; B Walsh for Horan (70).

Referee: J Griffin.

Pictured above: Brian Looney of Dr Crokes scores his side's second goal during the Kerry SFC clash between Dr Crokes and Austin Stacks in Tralee. Picture: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile