Spa’s winning run in the McCarthy Insurance Group Men’s County League Division 1 came to an end on Sunday afternoon as Kerins O’Rahillys claimed a 2-11 to 2-4 victory at Strand Road, Tralee.
Played in difficult conditions with heavy showers throughout making both the ball and playing surface slippery, it was a game that never truly flowed, with both sides finding scores hard to come by in a scrappy opening period.
O’Rahillys settled first with an early point from Conor O’Sullivan before Darragh O’Connor added a free to open up a two-point lead. While Spa struggled to gain a foothold early on, they defended well during this spell as the home side also kicked a number of wides.
Spa gradually worked their way into the contest and struck for the opening goal in the 19th minute when Shane Cronin reacted quickest close to goal to palm the ball to the net and edge the visitors in front.
However, the response from O’Rahillys was immediate as Darragh O’Connor found the net straight from the restart to restore the home side’s advantage with a good finish past the fully stretched Shay O'Meara.
To their credit, Spa finished the opening half strongly. Evan Cronin pointed from play in the 26th minute before Cian Murphy followed up with another fine score a minute later to level matters once more.
But right on the stroke of half-time, O’Rahillys regained the initiative. After Spa were penalised for not retreating sufficiently at a free, the ball was advanced into scoring range and O’Connor converted the resulting two-point free to leave the home side 1-4 to 1-2 ahead at the break.
The Tralee side made the perfect start to the second half when O’Connor grabbed his second goal after a well-worked move just a minute after the restart.
Spa continued to battle throughout and reduced the deficit through another point from Cian Murphy, but O’Rahillys were more clinical in front of goal during the closing stages. Scores from Shane McElligott and Ben Hanafin helped the home side build control despite Spa creating some promising opportunities of their own that unfortunately couldn’t be converted.
Spa kept fighting to the end and were rewarded with a late goal in the 58th minute when Eoin Fitzgerald palmed to the net after good pressure inside the square. However, O’Rahillys responded with the final score of the game through Tom Hoare to close out the win.
Overall, it was a difficult afternoon for Spa against a sharp and efficient O’Rahillys side, particularly through Darragh O'Connor. While it wasn’t Spa’s day, they continued to battle throughout in testing conditions and will look to bounce back in their next outing when they host Austin Stacks next weekend.
Played in difficult conditions with heavy showers throughout making both the ball and playing surface slippery, it was a game that never truly flowed, with both sides finding scores hard to come by in a scrappy opening period.
O’Rahillys settled first with an early point from Conor O’Sullivan before Darragh O’Connor added a free to open up a two-point lead. While Spa struggled to gain a foothold early on, they defended well during this spell as the home side also kicked a number of wides.
Spa gradually worked their way into the contest and struck for the opening goal in the 19th minute when Shane Cronin reacted quickest close to goal to palm the ball to the net and edge the visitors in front.
However, the response from O’Rahillys was immediate as Darragh O’Connor found the net straight from the restart to restore the home side’s advantage with a good finish past the fully stretched Shay O'Meara.
To their credit, Spa finished the opening half strongly. Evan Cronin pointed from play in the 26th minute before Cian Murphy followed up with another fine score a minute later to level matters once more.
But right on the stroke of half-time, O’Rahillys regained the initiative. After Spa were penalised for not retreating sufficiently at a free, the ball was advanced into scoring range and O’Connor converted the resulting two-point free to leave the home side 1-4 to 1-2 ahead at the break.
The Tralee side made the perfect start to the second half when O’Connor grabbed his second goal after a well-worked move just a minute after the restart.
Spa continued to battle throughout and reduced the deficit through another point from Cian Murphy, but O’Rahillys were more clinical in front of goal during the closing stages. Scores from Shane McElligott and Ben Hanafin helped the home side build control despite Spa creating some promising opportunities of their own that unfortunately couldn’t be converted.
Spa kept fighting to the end and were rewarded with a late goal in the 58th minute when Eoin Fitzgerald palmed to the net after good pressure inside the square. However, O’Rahillys responded with the final score of the game through Tom Hoare to close out the win.
Overall, it was a difficult afternoon for Spa against a sharp and efficient O’Rahillys side, particularly through Darragh O'Connor. While it wasn’t Spa’s day, they continued to battle throughout in testing conditions and will look to bounce back in their next outing when they host Austin Stacks next weekend.
