Laune Rangers earned a valuable point in Tiernaboul on Sunday afternoon, with a late goal from John Tyther rescuing a draw against Spa in an entertaining Division 1 County League encounter.
The visitors got off to a bright start, with Stephen Gannon opening the scoring inside the first minute. Spa quickly responded through a free from Cian Tobin, but with the aid of the wind, Laune Rangers took control of the early exchanges. Eoin Clifford split the posts from play before frees from John Tyther and Patrick Daly gave Laune Rangers the lead.
By the 15-minute mark, Laune Rangers led 0-5 to 0-2 following another Tyther free. Gannon added another close-range point, and although Spa replied with a score, two more placed balls from Tyther stretched the lead to five.
Spa had a golden goal opportunity, but Jason Browne produced a superb save. David Spillane pointed from the rebound, but Tyther’s reliable free-taking sent Laune Rangers in at the break leading 0-10 to 0-5.
Spa responded sharply after the restart. Within a minute, David Spillane found the net, and Tobin added a free. Tyther steadied the Laune Rangers challenge with two more points from frees. After a Spa point, Tyther added another from play, leaving Laune Rangers ahead 0-13 to 1-7 midway through the half.
Spa then hit the net for a second time through Tobin to level the match. Gannon briefly restored the Rangers’ lead with his third point, but scores from Evan Cronin and Tobin pushed Spa into a three-point lead approaching full-time.
John Tyther had a shot for goal saved by Shay O’Meara in the 58th minute. Substitute Cian O’Shea converted a free to reduce the gap, but Tobin replied immediately. Another score from Cronin kept Spa three ahead with time running out.
Laune Rangers kept battling, and a partially blocked effort from Cian O’Shea fell to John Tyther, who found the net with a composed finish to level the game. There was even a late chance to snatch victory after a Spa turnover, but Darragh Clifford’s shot drifted narrowly wide before the final whistle.
Spa Killarney:- Shay O’Meara, Eric O’Donoghue, Brian Lynch, Eoin Fitzgerald, Liam Spillane, Gary Vaughan, Conor Stack, Ciarán Spillane 0-1, Shane Cronin, Rian O’Neill, Michael Foley 0-1f, Joey McCarthy, David Spillane 1-1, Evan Cronin 0-2, Cian Tobin 1-8 (1-3, 3f, tpf). SUBS: Michael Horgan for C Stack (HT), Oran O’Neill for S Cronin (34), Michael Kearney for J McCarthy (45).
Laune Rangers:- Jason Browne, Shane Clifford, Killian Spillane, Seán Arthurs, Niall T O’Brien, Eoin Clifford 0-1, Calum Moriarty, Shane Daly, Stephen Sealy, John Tyther 1-10 (1-1, 5f, 4tpf), Gearóid Hassett, Marc Clifford, Darragh Clifford, Patrick Daly 0-1f, Stephen Gannon 0-3. SUBS: David Mangan for M Clifford (HT), Cian O’Shea 0-1 for P Daly (43), Ryan Diggin for Spillane (51), Ciarán O’Sullivan for C Moriarty (60).