North Kerry Ladies U12 Div 1 Final Connolly Park Thursday 18th April, 2019.
Referee: Seamus Mulvihill. Attendance: 140. Hearts in Mouth: 140.
Half Time Austin Stacks 3-2 Abbeydorney 3-1
Full time Austin Stacks 5-8 Abbeydorney 5-6
“The future of Kerry Ladies football is extremely bright” Referee Seamus Mulvihill put it best when presenting the 2019 North Kerry Division 1 League cup to the Stacks Captain, Aoibhe Kilgallen after an enthralling end to end contest, that had almost everything at sunny Connolly Park on Holy Thursday 18th April. The only thing missing was VAR.!
Egged on by vociferous support, both sides went at it hammer and tongs and it was almost impossible to keep track of the score, let alone the contest for every loose ball during general play. Skills, both defensive and attacking were aplenty and if there were GPS statistics kept, then players like Anna Slattery, Laura Falvey and Lisa Slattery for Abbeydorney and Kaya Huserova, Lucy O’Connor and Grace O’Donnell from Stacks, would have broken all records on a hot night of fantastic football.
Abbeydorney can count themselves extremely unlucky as Stacks has a lucky crossbar over keeper Aoife Begley’s head denied Abbeydorney three times which kept the Rock girls in the game. At the end of the game there was just a kick of a ball in it and the next encounter between these closely matched rivals will be an eagerly waited affair. The abiding memory of the game was the honest endeavour by all players on both sides and the sporting manner in which they conducted themselves throughout.
Austin Stacks ran the bench over the game and the panel was: Rachel Barry, Aoife Begley, Aisling Browne, Lauren Cotter, Jocelyn Cushen, Emily Flynn, Jacinta Griffin, Kaja Huserova, Aoibhe Kilgallen (captain), Kara Kirby, Ciara Laide, Belle McDonagh, Jodie Martin, Clodagh Moore, Ella Moore, Grace Nolan, Naoise O’Carroll, Lucy O’Connor, Grace O’Donnell, Chloe O’Sullivan, Amber Ryan, Amy Scanlon, Amy Stack Leen, Kate Sugrue, Maeve Trant.
Abbeydorney: Kerry Anne Moore, Faye Courtney, Jennifer Harty, Ellen McKenna, Lillie Stack, Grainne O’Carroll, Amy Cremin, Anna Slattery, Laura Falvey, Eva Costelloe, Lisa Slattery, Rebecca O’Dowd, Amy O’Sullivan, Rebecca O’Mahony, Ciara O’Brien.
Austin Stacks Ladies Club extends its thanks to mentors Gene O’Donnell, Dave Scanlon, Grainne O’ Sullivan, Pa Laide, Karen Griffin & Jimmy Browne for their contribution to the the team. Heroes all!
