Star shines bright as Stacks race to victory
Austin Stacks were never troubled in this complete mismatch, with Kieran Donaghy dictating matters at midfield. However, St Michaels/Foilmore played well below par and save for a purple patch in the final six minutes of the opening half, they were clearly outclassed.
Stacks looked good in the second half with Daniel Bohan, Ronan Shanahan, Denis McElligott and attacking wing-back Ciaran O’Connell impressing. Shane Carroll and Paul O’Donoghue took some fine scores but Stacks boss Stephen Stack won’t be getting carried away with this result.
St Michael’s/Foilmore opened the scoring through midfielder Padraig King, but then proceeded to shoot eight first-half wides, and Eanna O’Connor was their only forward to find the target.
Donaghy won vital ball at midfield, and Stacks raced 0-5 to 0-2 after 30 minutes, with Shane Carroll and David Mannix kicking two points while Paul O’Donoghue got the score of the game, from out near the left-hand sideline.
Then came the first sucker punch in the 20th minute when a keeper error led to Wayne Guthrie finishing a loose ball to the St Michael’s/Foilmore net, and when Ciaran O’Connell galloped up field and added a fine point, Stacks led 1-6 to 0-2 with eight minutes to the interval.
St Michael’s/Foilmore then rallied with three Eanna O’Connor points but the wide count was mounting as Stacks led 1-6 to 0-5 at the break.
In the second half Donaghy and Daniel Bohan took over with St Michael’s/Foilmore managing only a single score, and that was a 54th-minute goal from corner-back Brian Smith.
Points flowed for the Tralee side from Carroll, Donaghy, Barry Shanahan, Darragh Long (2), Pa McCarthy and Ciaran O’Connell, and in the 48th minute, Shane Carroll completed a man of the match display with a superb goal.
Scorers for Austin Stacks: S Carroll 1-4, W Guthrie 1-0, C O’Connell, P O’Donoghue, D Mannix, D Long 0-2 each, D McElligott, B Shanahan, K Donaghy and P McCarthy 0-1 each
Scorers for St Michael’s/Foilmore: E O’Connor 0-4 (0-3 frees), B Smith 1-0, P King 0-1
AUSTIN STACKS: J Conway, R Shanahan, D Bohan, J Dennis, T J Hogan, D McElligott, C O’Connell, B Shanahan, K Donaghy, P O’Donoghue, G Horan, F Mangan, W Guthrie, S Carroll, D Mannix
Subs: P McCarthy for G Horan (40), D Long for F Mangan (48), W Kirby for W Guthrie (52), E Colgan for D Mannix (56), S Bastible for T J Hogan (56)
St Michael’s/Foilmore: J O’Shea, A Smith, M Griffin, B Smith, D Scanlon,, B Galvin, A O’Connell, S O’Connor, P King, D O’Sullivan, C O’Connor, B Kelly, D Kelly, M Thiemann, E O’Connor
Subs: S O’Shea for D O’Sullivan (25), D J Moran for M Thiemann (48), C Grandfield for D Scanlon (52), M O’Sullivan for M Griffin (54)
Referee: P O’Sullivan (Firies).
