Spa welcomed Na Gaeil on Saturday evening in the final round of the Kerry Petroleum Intermediate Club Championship group stages. As both sides won their previous games, they had already qualified for the Quarter Finals, but that certainly didn’t make the game any less competitive.

Right from the start Na Gaeil’s Dara Devine was on the attack, but his opening shot was cleared by James Devane. Spa did have one effort wide of the post before Shane Cronin made a great run forward and left the keeper no chance, burying the ball in the back of the net for the first goal of the game, after just three minutes of play. Niall McCarthy almost added a second, but Timmy Culloty pulled off a great save, and the ball was quickly moved up the field with Diarmuid Herlihy splitting the posts a minute later. David Spillane and Evan Cronin added points for Spa even though it was Na Gaeil that seemed more dangerous in attack, with not one but two chances rolling in front of the Spa goal line. Niall McCarthy, Niall O’Mahony, Mike O’Donoghue and a great Evan Cronin point were answered at the other end with scores from Dan O’Connor and Diarmuid Herlihy to make it 1-6 to 0-3 at the water break.

Darragh Reen and Dara Devine exchanged points with Mike Foley, Shane Cronin and a superb Mike McCarthy point, before Jack Barry burst through and finished the ball in the Spa goal shortly before the break. Two quick scores from Evan Cronin and David Spillane, and a point right on half time from Diarmuid O’Connor, made it 1-11 to 1-6 at the break.

Within seconds of the restart Mike O’Donoghue split the posts and soon after added another, followed by a David Spillane point. Na Gaeil began to take control however, and kept the Spa defence busy for the next quarter, kicking six points in a row in a ten-minute spell early in the half - Ian McCarthy, Tadhg Lynch, Darragh Reen, Diarmuid Herlihy (2) and an outstanding Andrew Barry point making 1-14 to 1-12 as the final quarter began. Niall O’Mahony caught the end of a great Spa run and punched over the bar to make it 1-15 to 1-12 at the water break.

Another from Niall O’Mahony and a fantastic ‘45 from Gary Vaughan gave Spa some breathing space, but not for very long, as Diarmuid Herlihy rattled the Spa net with just seven minutes remaining to put a dangerous two points between the sides for the final few minutes. Both teams won and lost possession and while Ciaran Spillane came closest for Spa, Na Gaeil keeper Timmy Culloty denied him. A tense and exciting final few minutes ended with Evan Cronin on target in injury time to put a safety net of three points again between the sides. Time was up however, and Spa claim the victory by 1-18 to 2-12.

Spa and Na Gaeil both enter the open draw for the Quarter Finals, which are scheduled for Sept 5th/6th (teams from the same group cannot meet each other in the next round). The teams qualified so far are Spa, Na Gaeil, Castleisland Desmonds, Laune Rangers, An Ghaeltacht and Glenbeigh/Glencar, with other games tomorrow adding two more teams to that list before the draw.

Spa Team: James Devane, Eoin Fitzgerald, Eoin Cronin, Eric O’Donoghue, Shane Cronin (1-1), Dan O’Donoghue, Gary Vaughan (0-1 (‘45)), Michael McCarthy (0-1), Ciaran Spillane, Niall O’Mahony (0-3), Michael O’Donoghue (0-3 (1f)), Niall McCarthy (0-1 (1f)), Michael Foley (0-1 (1f)), Evan Cronin (0-4), David Spillane (0-3). Subs: Cian Tobin

Na Gaeil Team: Timmy Culloty, Dara Sheehy, Kieran Dineen, Damien Bourke, Fergal Barry, Andrew Barry (0-1), Eoin Doody, Diarmuid O’Connor (0-1), Jack Barry (1-0), Dan O’Connor (0-1), Kieran O’Donovan, Dara Devine (0-1), Ian McCarthy (0-1), Jamie Lowham, Diarmuid Herlihy (1-4). Subs: Darragh Reen (0-2), Enda O’Connor, Darragh Carmody, Tadhg Lynch (0-1), Jordan Murphy

Referee: Eddie Barrett (Knocknagoshel)

Photos: Anne Holland