Spa and East Kerry met in Fitzgerald Stadium on Saturday evening in Rd2 of the 2022 Garveys Co Championship. It was always going to be a tough encounter going up against the competition favourites, but at the end of the day it’s Spa that will rue our missed opportunities. The injured Dan O’Donoghue was a big name missing from our team sheet on Saturday but it was great to see the return of Dara Moynihan in a Spa jersey.

Ruairi Murphy and Evan Cronin exchanged early points before East Kerry were soon descending on the Spa goal, James Devane with his first save in the 5th minute. Ruairi Murphy was next to threaten the Spa goal but again some outstanding goalkeeping by James Devane denied him. Spa, who were very defensive in the early part of the game, did have their own chance to exercise East Kerry keeper Mark Kelliher, but our first attempt was well saved. Brendan O’Keeffe edged East Kerry ahead with a mark, before Paudie Clifford had his goal effort also superbly cleared after it bounced back off the crossbar in the 12th minute. Shane Ryan converted a free to give East Kerry the advantage at 0-3 to 0-1 at the end of the first quarter.

A foul on Ciaran Spillane led to Evan Cronin converting a free for Spa, but East Kerry soon increased their advantage, points from James O’Donoghue (2) and Ronan Buckley added to the scoreboard, with a lone reply at the other end from Michael Foley. At half time, after a low-scoring first half affair, Spa were trailing by 0-3 to 0-6.

As the second half began Evan Cronin pointed a free for Spa from a lovely angle near the sideline, but East Kerry were quick to reply, and points from Ronan Buckley and Niall Donoghue kept their lead secure. Evan put over another free before Liam Kearney was bearing down on goal but his effort was well saved. Moments later and another shot was worked into the Spa forward line, this time David Spillane with the danger shot, but it was high and went over for another Spa point. Less than ten minutes into the second half, East Kerry leading 0-8 to 0-6, David Clifford entered the field of play and was quick to make an impression. Pa Warren added a score for East Kerry before Clifford with his first touch added another and a few moments later kicked a second. As the third quarter was drawing to a close, Spa were trailing 0-11 to 0-6.

Shane Cronin made a lovely trademark sprint but the East Kerry defense managed to stop his shot before it reached the goal. As the play moved back to the other side of the pitch, Shane Ryan pointed for East Kerry to put six between the sides with quarter of an hour left to play. A never say die attitude kept Spa driving forward, David Spillane with a brilliant goal shot in the 55th minute that flew just left of the post. Cian Tobin also came close when a high ball landed in and his shot went over the crossbar instead of under. Liam Spillane added another for Spa and there was still some fight in the game as Mike O’Donoghue also scored to make it three points in a row for Spa, the score now reading Spa 0-9 East Kerry 0-12 with 58 minutes on the clock. The closest goal chance of the day for Spa soon followed, and importantly a chance that could draw the sides level, and the ball came so close but went agonizingly wide. East Kerry’s James O’Donoghue and David Clifford hit late insurance points before referee Peter Curtin flashed a red card at James O’Donoghue deep into injury time. East Kerry won out by 0-14 to 0-9, but Spa certainly stood up to the challenge and, had a few chances worked out, it could have been a different result!

Wishing all our injured players a speedy recovery.

Next up is Kerins O’Rahillys in the third and final qualifying round. The game will be on in Spa next weekend with fixture details to be confirmed.

Spa: James Devane, Eric O'Donoghue, Eoin Fitzgerald, Brian Lynch, Shane Lynch, Shane Cronin, Gary Vaughan, Liam Kearney, Ciaran Spillane, Ryan O'Carroll, Evan Cronin, Dara Moynihan, Mike O'Donoghie, Michael Foley, David Spillane. Subs: Cian Tobin, Liam Spillane

East Kerry: Mark Kelliher, Pa Warren, Jack Sherwood, Chris O’Donoghue, Cian Gammell, Paul Murphy, Daniel O’Brien, Darragh Lyne, Ronan Buckley, Ruairi Murphy, Paudie Clifford, Shane Ryan, Patrick Darcy, Brendan O’Keeffe.

Referee: Peter Curtin (Brosna)

Photos: Padraig Healy