Poignant and historical success for Commercials

GAA: FBD Insurance Tipperary Senior Football Championship Final

Clonmel Commercials 1-3-23 (29)

Kilsheelan/Kilcash 1-0-5 (8)

Report: Michael Dundon at FBD Semple Stadium

MATCH DIGEST

Player of the Match: Peter McGarry (Clonmel Commercials)

SCORERS - Clonmel Commercials: Sean O’Connor, Cian Smith (1x2f) 0-6 each; Jack Kennedy 0-5 (1x2p, 1x1f); Peter McGarry 0-4 (1x2p); Michael Quinlivan 1-1; Ross Peters, Thomas Charles, Seamus Kennedy, Colman Kennedy 0-1 each.

Kilsheelan/Kilcash: Shane Garland (0-3, 2 frees); Jamie Roche 1-0; Senan Butler, Liam Freaney 0-1 each.

Their seventh County Senior Football title in the last decade could hardly have come more easily to Clonmel Commercials whose second half blitz of Kilsheelan/Kilcash sent them romping home to a 21 point final win on Saturday.

This victory sees the Clonmel club go top of the title table with 22 O’Dwyer cup wins, one better than Fethard, and it also sets them up for a joust with Cork champions, St Finbarr’s in the Munster club championship next Saturday.

It was a disappointing final, too one-sided in the second half to generate supporter enthusiasm. Even in the first half, Commercials were the dominant team, playing the game on their terms. Although they led by just three points at half-time, 0-10 to 1-4, the ten scores to four was a better reflection of the trend of the game.

Kilsheelan-Kilcash were chasing their first success since 1972 and their fifth in all. Beaten by Commercials in last year’s final, their semi-final win over holders Loughmore-Castleiney had them optimistic about bridging the 53 year gap but, on the day, they simply were not in the same league as their rivals who marked the memory of their late player and mentor Philly Ryan in fitting style, with his son Shane, who also followed in his fathers footsteps by playing in goal for club and county, having the honour of lifting the O’Dwyer Cup along with skipper Seamus Kennedy.

Briefly, very briefly, did Kilsheelan threaten an upset. In the tenth minute Jamie Roche, their top scorer all season, netted off Barry Kehoe’s great jinking run down the left for a 1-1 to 0-2 lead, but by the fifteenth minute, Commercials, with Pater McGarry very influential notching three points, including one two-pointer, were level 0-5 to 1-2.

To add to Kilsheelan woes they lost goalkeeper Evan Comerford to injury after seventeen minutes. Three points in four minutes from Jack Kennedy (2) and Sean O’Connor moved Commercials clear and they cruised to an interval lead of 0-10 to 1-4, Shane Garland frees (2) keeping Kilsheelan within touching distance on the scoreboard.

If Kilsheelan-Kilcash struggled in the first half, they were even more in trouble on resuming. Points from Peter McGarry, Thomas Charles and Sean O’Connor stretched Commercials lead inside five minutes of resuming but the killer blow for Kilsheelan came in the 37th minute when Michael Quinlivan blasted to the net after a slick build-up by Commercials, followed quickly by points from Cian Smith (2), Sean O’Connor, and a two-pointer from Jack Kennedy for a 1-18 to 1-4 lead with the last quarter still to come.

It was indeed game over. The game was down to walking pace and Commercials were emptying their bench. Liam Freaney’s point after 44 minutes was Kilsheelan’s only score of the second half, Commercials enjoying themselves as they added a further eight points without reply in the last quarter.Even allowing for the ineffectiveness of Kilsheelan/Kilcash, this was surely Commercials’ best display of the year and it sets them up nicely for their clash with the Cork champions as the current Commercials crop seek to emulate that of the 2015 side which won the Munster club title, the only Tipp club to do so. A significant feature of this Commercials side is the strength they have coming off the bench, as was again seen on Saturday.

Peter McGarry played a starring role in the early stages in particular when the game was in the balance, but Jack Kennedy, Michael Quinlivan, Cian Smith and Sean O’Connor all had big games. A concern will be the injury which forced Kevin Fahey off after fifteen minutes.

Kilsheelan/Kilcash will be disappointed with their showing having won four of their five championship games in the run up to the final. The loss of goalkeeper Evan Comerford to injury early in the game did not help, though replacement Conor Grant did not put a foot wrong. Few of their lads played to their true form, with Jamie Roche, Mark Stokes, Daire Brennan, Eoin Roche and Barry Kehoe doing their utmost to stem the tide.

TEAMS - Clonmel Commercials: Shane Ryan (6); Tadhg Condon (6), James Morris (6), Ross Slattery (6); Kevin Fahey (6), Seamus Kennedy (6), Cathal Deely (6); Darragh O’Connor (6), Jack Kennedy (8); Rory O’Dowd (6), Sean O’Connor (7), Peter McGarry (9); Ross Peters (6), Michael Quinlivan (7), Cian Smith (8).

Subs: Thomas Charles (6) for Fahey (15 inj); Colman Kennedy (6) for Peters (40); Sean Kennedy (6) for Deely (49); Joe Higgins (6) for D O’Connor (54), Ryan Lambe (NR) for Quinlivan (56).

Kilsheelan/Kilcash: Evan Comerford (6); Kian Quinn (6), Eoin Kehoe (6), Jason Madigan (6); Emmet Butler (6), Daire Brennan (6), Billy O’Connor (6); Mark Stokes (7), Billy Murphy (6); Tommy O’Connor (6), Miceal Freaney (6), Shane Garland (6), Senan Butler (6), Jamie Roche (7), Barry Kehoe (6).

Subs: Conor Grant (6) for Comerford (17 inj); Liam Freaney (6) for Murphy (37); Mikey McGuire (6) for Garland (40); Ru Kelly (6) for S Butler (54).

Referee: Sean Lonergan (Moyle Rovers).