Liam Kearney leaves Kerry squad, guides Spa to Division 1 win

The midfielder has left the Kerry squad of his own volition

Liam Kearney. Picture: INPHO/James Crombie

Midfielder Liam Kearney has left the Kerry squad of his own volition and returned to club duty to make an impact with Spa, who edged John Mitchels 1-14 to 0-15 in Tralee in the Kerry SFL Division 1.

Mitchels led 0-5 to 0-4 at the first water break thanks to points from James Duggan (2), Thomas Kearns, and George Bastible. Cian Murphy then struck for a Spa goal but points from Alan O Sullivan and James Duggan (2) soon leveled matters, and it was still level at the break 1-6 to 0-9.

In the second half, late points from Jonathan O’Halloran and Michael Kelliher gave John Mitchels a two-point lead. However, points from Kearney and Niall McCarthy had the sides level for the eighth time with 10 minutes remaining. The teams traded points before Eoin Fitzgerald, Evan Cronin, and Kearney again pushed Spa three clear.

Dingle just edged out Kilcummin by a point (0-11 to 0-10) despite Noel Duggan scoring six points for the losers and former Kerry senior Kevin McCarthy scoring two. The sides were level on 0-10 apiece in the 56th minute, but Conor Geaney fired over a late winner to seal it for Dingle.

Dr Crokes beat Austin Stacks 0-10 to 0-9 in a cagey affair with two late Jordan Kiely points. Stacks lost Barry Shanahan through injury and had Adam Curran sent off late on and must start winning with only two games left.

In Division 1B, Jack Savage with 0-5 and Cormac Coffey’s four from centre-back guided Kerins O’Rahilly’s to a five-point win over struggling Rathmore (0-12 to 0-7) to top the league while Killarney Legion made it two wins from three thanks to a 1-9 to 1-6 win over Beaufort, Ryan O’Grady getting the goal.

Kenmare Shamrocks and Gaeltacht drew 1-6 to 0-9.