St Pats 4-11   Spa 3-14

St Pats and Spa shared the spoils in what could best be described as a pulsating game, full of drama, intensity and some controversial moments.  This was a high scoring encounter, in which   St. Pats' David O'Callaghan scored two goals and five points and Spa's Evan Cronin a goal and twelve points, with six of those coming from frees.  Playing in sunny Blennerville under perfect conditions, the away side registered the first score of the game after a minute from play by Evan Cronin.  St Pats' David O'Callaghan had the green flag raised a minute later, following fine play by the Pats forward line and could have added a second minutes later, after rounding James Devane in goal for Spa, only for his goal-bound effort to be cleared on the line.  Brendan Poff scored the home side's second goal after 13 minutes of play to send Pats ahead by five.  Spa went in search of points to reduce the deficit and scored a goal and four points, which were unreplied during a thirteen minute spell.  Points from a Breandáin Savage free and David O'Callaghan from play ensured that the scores were 2-03 to 1-06 going into the break.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

St Pats started the second half in blistering form, with points from David O’Callaghan, Kevin O'Shea, Brendan Poff and a well worked goal scored by Paul McMahon, within the first eight minutes of play.  Spa's Jamie Spillane reduced the deficit, when he scored a goal after he was left unchallenged.  He bore down on the Pats goal area and released a shot that flew past John Fitzgerald in goal for St Pats.  The resultant kick out was won by St Pats and Kevin O'Shea sent in a high ball, which was caught one-handed by Paul McMahon, who put his basketball skills into great use.  He passed the ball to Breandáin Savage, who unselfishly spotted David O'Callaghan and a swift movement from him, rounded the Spa goalkeeper to slot the ball into an empty net.  This goal saw the home side lead by eight points with twenty minutes of normal time still to be played. Spa launched another attack through Shane Cronin, who spotted a gap in the Pats defence line, but was impeded as he was about to shoot. The referee awarded a penalty which Evan Cronin failed to convert, as his effort bounced off the post and the rebound was gathered by St Pats' Liam Poff. Kieran Dwyer added another point after he ran almost 40 metres and fisted the ball over.  This was in between frees, converted by Evan Cronin, as Spa continued to claw their way back into the game.  With five minutes extra time played and the home side leading by three points, Spa launched a last gasp attack and were rewarded with a free just on the edge of the square.  Evan Cronin's goal attempt was blocked, only for the rebound to come to Shane Cronin and he released a bullet of a shot, which managed to find the back of the home side's net.  The referee called time on the match with seven minutes of extra time played.

 

St Pats:  John Fitzgerald, Tommy Lynch, Kieran Dwyer (0-1), Tommy O'Connor, Kevin O'Shea (0-1), Jeffrey Foley, Brian Murphy, Liam Poff, Paul McMahon (1-0), Brendan Poff (1-1), David O'Callaghan (2-5,2f), Gary Savage (0-1), Luke Mulligan, Liam O'Sullivan, Breandáin Savage (0-2,2f)

Subs: Eoin Greaney for Gary Savage, Cillian O'Riordan for Liam Poff, Joe Costello for Brian Murphy, Brandon Boyle for Breandáin Savage

Spa: James Devane, Eric O'Donoghue, Eoghan Cronin, Eoin Fitzgerald, Shane Cronin (1-0), Matthew Moynihan, Aydan Mulvaney, Michael McCarthy, Ciaran Spillane, Cormac Cronin, Jamie Spillane (1-0), David Spillane, Niall McCarthy (0-2), Michael O'Donghue, Evan Cronin (1-12,6f)

Subs: Ryan O'Carroll, Brendan Lynch, John Falvey