Sports

Spa 2-11  Cratloe 0-10 SPA’S second goal, netted in first-half injury time, and a fortuitous point seven minutes from full time, helped the Killarney club to eventually shake off Cratloe in Mallow last Sunday.Michael O’Donoghue, who flitted between full and centre-forward, scored that decisive 1-1 and added a further 1-2 from play in an impressive individual display.The second goal pushed Spa into a 2-4 to 0-5 interval lead, having played against a biting wind.The Kerry champions exploded into the Munster intermediate final and had established a 1-2 to 0-0 advantage after just seven minutes. With their defenders largely playing behind their men and only Conor McGrath looking sharp up front, the portents suggested that Cratloe might be in for a hiding.Fielding five minors and a total of eight U-21s in their starting 15, Cratloe displayed admirable tenacity in clawing their way into the game.Once they moved Podge Collins back to help tighten up their defence, Cratloe steadied and kicked a …

St Caimin’s    2-7        Our Lady’s Templemore   0-10 The pitch was in remarkably good condition but weather conditions were difficult with the players having to contend with biting cold and driving rain.Templemore played with the aid of the wind in the opening half and they took an early lead with points from Dan McCormack (free) and Shane Hassett before Pa Sheehan opened the winners’ account in the 10th minute when he converted a 50m free.McCormack (from a 65’) and Hassett replied for the Tipperary school to leave them three clear at the end of the opening quarter. The loss of McCormack with a leg injury was a blow to Templemore, whose forwards found it difficult to make any impact against a well-organised St Caimin’s defence in which central defenders Noel Purcell and Kevin Lynch were strong throughout.There was quite a lengthy hold up due to McCormack’s injury and this resulted in almost five minutes of injury time at the end of …

ENNIS teenagers Aaron Flynn and Jessica Lane picked up national karate titles at the Official National Amateur Karate Association of Ireland (ONAKAI) open championship in Dublin last weekend.Both are members of the World Shotokan Karate-do Federation of Ireland (WSKF) club in Ennis. Aaron, who is a leaving certificate student at Rice College in Ennis, won gold in the U-18 category. This follows the silver medal he won in Japan recently at the federation’s world championship, while he also competed in Morocco in the under 75kg open championship this year.Jessica Lane also won the U-18 title at the national karate championships. She is a student at Ennis Gaeilcolaiste.Meanwhile, Conal Tunney, John Tunney, Patrick Tierney and Cormac Hennessy, who are also members of the Ennis club, won medals in various categories at the national championships.

SHANNON Town United is celebrating its 40th anniversary and last weekend it announced a new partnership with Celtic.

A meeting of the Clare GAA County Board on Wednesday night voted overwhelmingly to support the framework document, which should result in the Gaelic Players Association (GPA) operating under the wing of the GAA.

ELEVEN members of the outgoing executive of Clare GAA will hold the same posts for the coming year. When nominations closed last week, they were the only nominees for the positions.

RAY Houghton’s goal against England in 1988 lit the fuse on a great period for Irish soccer, with the win over the old enemy really getting the whole country behind the national team. It was a famous win for Ireland, perhaps the sweetest there has been, but it could have been very different. After Houghton’s strike, England dominated the next 84 minutes, laying siege to the Irish goal for long spells.Packie Bonner was outstanding on the day and his string of saves helped Ireland hang on for a highly improbable win.The goalscorer was at the Clare Inn last Friday night for a function organised by the Ennis Town Club and he reflected on that triumph. “He (Bonner) made a lot of saves but that’s what he’s supposed to do! It wasn’t as one sided as you might think but certainly England had chances. When we went 1-0, up we didn’t know what to do really, so we sat back and …

Saddle Source NEWMARKET-on-Fergus trainer John Brassil tasted success at last Saturday’s Dromahane, County Cork point-to-point fixture where his Carrigerry (3/1-4/1) ran out an impressive winner of the first division of the concluding six-year-old and upwards mares’ maiden.