Spa travelled to Ballymacelligott on Sunday afternoon for Rd1 of the Co League, and with the aid of a strong breeze in the opening half and three goals in quick succession, we secured our first two points of the year.

Niall McCarthy and Cian Tobin had early points on the board before Daire Keane converted a free to open the Ballymac scoring. Spa hit a purple patch shortly after, taking full advantage of the strong wind and scoring an unanswered 3-4 in a short 10-minute spell. Cian Murphy finished the first goal before Evan Cronin and Mikey Moynihan kicked long range efforts that were aided by the wind. Evan Cronin slotted home the second Spa goal before adding another point, and Mike Stam O’Donoghue raised the white flag too soon after. In the 20th minute, Niall McCarthy rattled the net for the third Spa goal to make it Spa 3-6 Ballymacelligott 0-1. In reply, Ballymac added four points before the break, Vinny Horan (3) and Dan O’Shea the scorers. At the half time whistle, Spa had built up a solid lead at 3-6 to 0-5.

Ballymac had the better start to the second half and quickly had two more points on the board from Vinny Horan and Aidan Breen. Both sides had goal shots denied by the two keepers before they started kicking point for point, Evan Cronin (2) and Cian Murphy (2) exchanging scores with Donal Daly, Maurice O’Connell and Darragh Broderick. The fourth Spa goal came in the 55th minute, Shane Cronin on a trademark sprint forward played across to David Spillane who finished it to the back of the net. Donagh Fahy kicked the final Spa score, but Ballymac kept pressuring the Spa goal line. In the 60th minute, James Devane pulled off a great penalty save but the rebound was collected by Ballymac and played out again, with Luke Sweeney breaking through the defence on the next attack and rattling the net for the home side.

Final score Spa 4-11 Ballymacelligott 1-10

A great team effort has earned Spa our first points of the year, and in two weeks time (April 2nd/3rd) we welcome neighbours Legion to Spa for Rd2. Details TBC.

Spa: James Devane, Eric O’Donoghue, Eoin Fitzgerald, Brian Lynch, Conor Stack, Shane Cronin, David Spillane (1-0), Michael Foley, Gary Vaughan, Mikey Moynihan (0-1), Evan Cronin (1-4(2f)), Niall McCarthy (1-1), Mike O’Donoghue (0-1), Cian Murphy (1-2), Cian Tobin (0-1). Subs: Thomas Cronin, Donagh Fahy (0-1), Rian O’Neill, Eoin O’Riordan, Brendan Lynch

Ballymacelligott: Paidi Laide, Eoin O’Malley, Micheál Reidy, Michael Sweeney, Darragh Sweeney, Dan O’Shea (0-1), Tomás O’Connor, Cian Counihan, Aidan Breen (0-1), Darragh O’Regan, Mike Herlihy, Donal Daly (0-1), Maurice O’Connell (0-1), Vinny Horan (0-4(2f)), Daire Keane (0-1f). Subs: Tadhg Brick, Darragh Broderick (0-1), Adam Kelly, Luke Sweeney (1-0)

Referee: Billy O’Shea