Spa and Dr Crokes met in the Fitzgerald Stadium on Sunday afternoon in windy, wintry conditions in the deferred 2020 O’Donoghue Cup Final, and although it took a while for the game to pick up pace, it was certainly an exciting finish. Three goals for Crokes in the opening half tipped the scales very much in their favour and made for an uphill battle for Spa, but a strong recovery, especially in the third quarter, brought us to within a kick of the ball.

Crokes were edging towards goal right from the start, their first effort well blocked by James Devane in the opening minute. Spa were first to register a score, Evan Cronin with a free in the fourth minute and we added a second point shortly after, Dan O’Donoghue’s shot rolling off the top of the net. Tony Brosnan got Crokes on the board after eight minutes and the first goal came shortly after, James Devane with another great block but Evan Looney was waiting in the wings to collect the rebound and rattled the net. Shortly after, Niall McCarthy called a mark and kicked the third Spa point but Crokes were quickly descending on goal again, this time it was Micheál Burns who raised the green flag. At the first half water break, Spa were trailing 0-3 to 2-1.

Tony Brosnan extended the Crokes advantage before the third goal, David Shaw with a long sprint down the field and his effort bouncing off the left post, flying across the goalmouth, and tipping off the inside of the right post. Ryan O’Carroll and Mike Foley exchanged points with Shaw (2) and at the half time whistle Spa were trailing by 0-5 to 3-4.

Delighted with the return of Liam Kearney for the second half, Spa opened the scoring with a Mike Foley free. Crokes’ own sharpshooter Tony Brosnan replied with two to make it 0-6 to 3-6 after just five minutes. Evan Cronin landed a brilliant pass in to Niall McCarthy who quickly split the posts, and Evan himself added another one immediately after. Mike O’Donoghue, just moments after being introduced, made that three points in a row for Spa. In the 46th minute as Spa were again on the attack, Mike Foley landed a stunning shot in to Niall McCarthy who caught, turned and superbly slotted past the Crokes keeper. The water break was called straight after, Spa now in a much better position at 1-9 to 3-6.

On the restart, Mark O’Shea put four between the sides again before Shane Cronin on one of his trademark sprints made it all the way in to the Crokes’ 14 yard line and passed to the waiting Liam Kearney, who jumped high and knocked the ball into the back of the Crokes goal. With less than ten minutes remaining, Spa had stepped up to the challenge and now just a point separated the sides, Spa 2-9 Dr Crokes 3-7. Both sides had opportunities to score but it was Jordan Kiely late in the game that put two between the sides. In the final minutes Spa came just inches from goal, Mike Foley landing a pass in to Mike O'Donoghue but Brendan Falvey in the Crokes goal managed to clear it, and Dr Crokes quickly worked the ball forward as Daithí Casey kicked the final point of the day. Unfortunately no injury time was played, the game was called and Dr Crokes were crowned 2020 O’Donoghue Cup champions on a scoreline of Spa 2-9 Dr Crokes 3-9.

Congratulations to Dr Crokes on the win. Commiserations to our senior panel and the management team who have done themselves and the club incredibly proud this year, with a lot of football played in the last few months. Wishing all injured players a speedy recovery.

Our thanks to the senior management of Ivor Flynn, Brian Gleeson, Kieran Herlihy, Neilie Kerins and Arthur Fitzgerald for all their work and their commitment to the Spa seniors over the past few years and wish each and every one of them all the best for the future as they step down today.

Spa: James Devane, Brian Lynch, Eoin Fitzgerald, Shane Lynch, Shane Cronin, Dan O’Donoghue (0-1), Ryan O’Carroll (0-1), Ciaran Spillane, Gary Vaughan, Niall O’Mahony, Michael Foley (0-2), Dara Moynihan, Niall McCarthy (1-2), Evan Cronin (0-2), Cian Tobin. Subs: Liam Kearney (1-0), Mike O’Donoghue (0-1)

Dr Crokes: Brendan Falvey, John Payne, David Naughton, Fionn Fitzgerald, Mark Cooper, Gavin White, Evan Looney (1-0), Mark O’Shea (0-1), Johnny Buckley, Gavin O’Shea, Micheál Burns (1-0), Brian Looney, Tony Brosnan (0-4), David Shaw (1-2), Kieran O’Leary. Subs: Jordan Kiely (0-1), Daithí Casey (0-1), Tom Doyle, Michael Moloney, Michael Potts

Referee: Eddie Walsh

Photos: Anne Holland