Stacks U12 girls made history yesterday (Mon June 4th) when they recorded our clubs very first win over Southern Gaels in Renard. Later in the day at home in Connolly Park their club mates on the U14 team recorded a very fine win over Cromane.
Maurice Mac Namara reports on the 3 games:
Under 12 Co League Div 1: Southern Gaels 1-07 v Austin Stacks 3-07
The Stacks arrived in sun drenched Renard today never having beaten Southern Gaels at any Juvenile grade in the history of the club and left as winners after putting in as good a performance that this observer has seen from a Juvenile team wearing black and amber.
Throughout the team from goalkeeper to top of the right the girls played smart football, took their points and when the opportunities came they went for the killer goals. Make no mistake this is not a bad Southern Gaels team, they were littered with top performers, an impressive midfield, strong full-back line and a full forward who knew exactly where the goals were and blessed with huge speed.
We took it in our stride and played to a plan, playing the width of the pitch, competing for everything in midfield and impersonating scrooge in the backs. Holly O’Brien, Saoirse Moriarty, Mia Patterson and Dee Dee all took their scores after huge game winning possessions from Lucy O’Donnell and Rachel O’Mahoney in the middle.
I hate naming players because at this level it is all about the team so I am just going to say that the Stacks back division were imperious, never really ruffled and got about their jobs with efficiency and skill. In fairness though Lucy O’Connor was absolutely unreal at number 6, her reading of the game meant that the Gaels dangerous forwards were starved of possession, and her transition forward was full of composure and forethought.
Don’t get me wrong this game was not all about the Rock, the girls in green and gold asked serious questions and when they scored 1-1 at the start of the second half it looked like a thriller was in store, but the stacks girls steadied the ship and just kept going on with the plan.
The final whistle was met with real joy as this group of history makers know how good Southern Gaels are and to have the honour of being the first Rock team to beat them was not lost on them.
Huge thanks to the ladies of Southern Gaels for providing refreshments and treats for our girls after the game.
Donagh O’Mahoney and coach extraordinaire Aidan Lucid must be thanked by the Rock Ladies club for the buckets of water and ice lollies that they pulled from the bus, it is hard to keep everything together in a Ladies Club but with parents and coaches like this group have we are indeed blessed.
U12 Co League Div 4: Southern Gaels 0-02 v Austin Stacks 6-06
And like buses, you wait twenty years for one and two come together, the Stacks second team replicated their Division 1 colleagues and beat Southern Gaels for the second time in the history of the club.
Unlike the first game this game was dominated by the Rock girls, in all lines on the pitch they had big performances from girls who took inspiration from their friends success. The really impressive thing about it was that aside from a very special talent at full forward, all of the girls who impressed the most arrived at this result on the back of huge improvements made over the season.
Ashling Browne is 10, and she has always been very good, she finished the game with a tally of 4-02 and she will only get better, she is so cute on the ball and proves that playing with the lads in the park is where the town forward is born.
Throughout the team the girls dominated possession fought tigerishly to defend their goals and get the play across the midfield and into our very impressive forwards. I am not sure what else to say about this group only that the trip home was very short and enjoyable.
We had no girl on the B team who is not eligible next year and they have taken some heart breaking defeats in this Division this year but I hope that this victory today makes it all worthwhile for these girls and their parents.
29 girls came off the bus this afternoon hoping to play well and do their best but when they got back on the bus they knew that they were able to play this stupid game called football.
The reason for this is the legacy that Southern Gaels have given to Kerry Ladies Football, it is the duty of all the other clubs in the county to try and reach the standards that they set and hopefully as we go forward into the future the Austin Stacks Ladies Club will have more days like today.
U14 Co League Div 1: Austin Stacks 6-12 v Cromane/Spa 1-02
Following protracted delays at the Under 14 grade due to the County Teams extended run in the All Ireland series we got back underway tonight in Connolly Park with Cromane/Spa as our opponents.
During the break our girls kept coming to training and it showed and with the addition of our county players who we haven’t had for a while they dominated this fixture and pulled away in the second half to record their third victory in Division 1. There was rustiness in the first half with an element of getting to know each other again which resulted in bits of sloppy play and inaccurate passing and shooting but once they got into their stride in the second half the scores started to flow.
This is a talented hard working group with a number of class individuals, Ela Breen and Eimear Litchfield in midfield, Clodagh Murray, Grace Reidy in the backs, Heather MacNamara and Kirby Anne Ryan in the forwards all brought their teammates into the play and this resulted in an avalanche of possession that the Cromane/Spa back division could not cope with. The threats came from everywhere and it was great to see Lauren Dowling, Grace O’Connor and Niamh Collins all making scoring contributions.
Cromane/Spa kept going to their credit but the intensity of the stacks girls in the tackle and the pressure they put on the ball especially in the second half meant that they were limited to very sporadic attacks and with scores mounting on the other side it could have been very dispiriting, but no they played with bravery in an attempt to revive their fortunes in the division.
In the end the constant pressure on the Cromane/Spa backs told and with the concession of frees and penalties along with the class of some of the forward play the scoreboard started to go against them.
The aim for the season for the Under 14s is to improve to a level where we can compete with the best in the county and if we can win our last league games we may get a shot at qualifying for a final in this grade.
Well done to the management of Peter, Owen and Tuiske who have kept the girls on track in difficult circumstances and hopefully you will get rewarded for your efforts at the end of this busy period.