More than 1,000 miles from Rugby Park one strike of the ball from Kelechi Iheanacho sent hundreds of Celtic fans into raptures in the holiday resort of Santa Ponsa. Kells saved the holiday for many!
It had been a baking hot day in the Mallorcan resort, when David Watson equalised in the 82nd minute it looked like putting a right downer on the entire week but as Iheanacho’s penalty hit the back of the net Beautiful Sunday was soon blaring out around The Square.
A 4pm kick-off was ideal, allowing fans to enjoy a the best of the sunshine then get seated for the action from home, the bravest of supporters sat out in the open air catching the baking sunshine while others opted for the ‘premium’ seats in the shade.
Celts Well provides a great theatre to watch the match. If the team isn’t quite hitting the heights there is the strong consolation of being in among your own on holiday with maybe a 65-35 split between Scottish and Irish supporters.
When there is late drama like at Kilmarnock on Sunday memories are made, two weeks earlier Iheanacho was out of the picture at Seville but in a special corner of south west Mallorca he was the hero of the hour as Celtic nudged back ahead of Hearts at the top of the SPFL Premiership table.
A good number of the hands in the air were holding onto phones, within minutes the scenes were being shared, a late Celtic win makes Sunday’s in the sun much more beautiful.
Every matchday Celts Well at The Square is the number one venue with 500 fans seated around a high quality giant screen. It really is a unique setting whether you are a regular or visiting for the first time a huge area given over to Celtic fans watching a high definition screen on holiday isn’t to be forgotten. Indoors at Celts Well there is seating for about 80 fans with numerous well located TV screens.
Harry, Marina, Karl and Katie are joined by a good sized matchday staff to ensure that everything runs smoothly, it is quite an exercise, famously for the 2024 Adan Idah Scottish Cup Final the outdoor seats were filling up four hours before kick-off!
Down the road, about 15 minutes in the area known as The Strip, Brennan’s Sports Bar and The Dubliner are fantastic alternatives if you prefer to watch the action indoors in a more traditional setting. The management and staff at those venues know exactly what the holidaymakers are looking for, providing the perfect settings for fans rolling in off the beach or leaving their poolside behind for a taste of home.
Click on the video above for the full penalty celebrations.
For decades now Santa Ponsa has been the holiday resort of choice for Celtic supporters.
With around 10 flights a day from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Prestwick Airports it is easily reached with flight times of just under three hours.
Just 15 miles from Palma Airport there is the unique resort with a very Celtic spirit about it as well as everything else that you’d expect from a popular Spanish resort.
There are many good reasons why Brendan Rodgers has Rafa Nadal, Jurgen Klopp and Robert Lewandowski for company when he escapes for a few weeks break during the close season. Over on the quiet side of the resort.
Down at the strip there is no shortage of options for a great Celtic themed night out.
At Celtic Well Karl Bryne is on for a few hours every night, in his 16th season he has a very dedicated band of followers who love his blend of songs and insults, the victims all seem to love it, it seems like a badge of honour to be on the end of Karl’s biting banter.
Byrne has an incredible knowledge of virtually every town in Scotland and Ireland, during the winter he can be heard at a variety of venues around Glasgow with the Tollbooth his base camp.
The geography of Santa Ponsa is fairly simple, from the small roundabout at Daniel’s Corner a 15 minute walk to the left takes you to Celts Well at The Square, immediately to your right there are a number of pubs all providing live music.
At the far end is the iconic Dubliner where the biggest names in the Celtic scene are regular guests.
Playing all the way through the season, from April 1 to mid October is the brilliant duo of Mairtin O’Huigin and Darrin Cahill.
Prior to his travels Mairtin was a Celtic Season Ticket holder, he knows what is topical among the Celtic support, last summer he had two nights off, one of them was to attend the special dinner hosted by the Ballymena Shamrock.
Another regular is Chris from Erin go Bragh on the late shift, there are powerful Celtic and Irish songs through to 4am plus you might hear about the occasional Rhinestone Cowboy
Sonia, Sofia and Ciaran put in incredible shifts at The Dubliner, they open at lunchtime and have music on from 9.30pm through to 4am, then they do it all again. They know their audience who keep coming back year after year with a few managing two or three visits every season
Down the Carter de Ramon de Montcalm from The Dubliner is the brilliantly set up Brennan’s Sports Bar which has music on indoors and out.
All masterminded by Michelle who does everything imaginable short of getting up on stage to blast out The Fields of Athenry or The Celtic Sympahny.
There is more to Santa Ponsa than big screens, great pubs and live music, there are great restaurants dotted all over the place, a white sanded beach in a bay setting that means that the water barely moves, at this time of year there is no chill at all.
Next month the pubs will be having their closing down parties, there is still time to grab the special Celtic experience although there are no guarantees of Iheanacho magic, hopefully Sunday against Partick Thistle won’t involve the same high level of drama in sunny Santa Ponsa.
RELATED READING:
Karl Byrne celebrates following the 2024 Scottish Cup Final, Santa Ponsa style
