Holders Clonmel Commercials win their fourth Tipperary senior football championship in five years

Clonmel Commercials 6-7 JK Brackens 2-6

Holders Clonmel Commercials won their fourth FBD Insurance County Senior Football Championship in five years when they romped to a facile victory over JK Brackens in Sunday’s final at FBD Semple Stadium.

It may have been a fine, sunny day but it rained goals at the Thurles venue, a half a dozen of them scored by the Clonmel team, as their success brought them level with Fethard on 21 titles as the teams with greatest number of championships won in the county.

And that occurred on a day when the Fethard team that won the 1997 championship was honoured as the County GAA Board’s Team of the Past.

It wasn’t a classic final by any means but that won’t bother Commercials, as they set their sights now on another crack at the Munster championship, and a date with the Limerick champions, Newcastle West or Adare, on November 12.

Seven points clear at half-time, Commercials were in ruthless form in the second half. They may not have scored in the second quarter but they soon set about rectifying that when James Morris and Peter McGarry were involved in the move that saw Padraic Looram score their third goal in the 32nd minute.

Brackens responded when Jack Kennedy smashed a penalty [high into the net two minutes later but the outcome was really only heading in one direction. A quick break between Seamus Kennedy, Michael Quinlivan and Padraic Looram ended with Seanie O’Connor scoring his second goal in the 43rd minute.

They had their sixth three minutes later when a devastating solo by Michael Quinlivan had the Brackens defence at sixes and sevens and when Quinlivan dropped an inviting pass across the face of the goal Cathal Deely did the rest.     

Commercials threatened to turn the final into a procession in the first half. They were 0-4 to 0-2 ahead when they struck for their first goal in the ninth minute, when Seanie O’Connor was brought down by Martin Delaney and a penalty awarded.

Brackens goalkeeper Kuba Beben was equal to Michael Quinlivan’s spot kick, but his fine save proved fruitless when the ball fell kindly for the Clonmel man, who buried the rebound.

Worse was to follow for the challengers. They lost Lorcan Egan to a black card for a foul on Quinlivan in the 13th minute, with the resulting free converted by Seanie O’Connor.

Then Commercials hit their opponents with a double whammy of two goals in a minute midway through the first half. The first came when Peter McGarry took a pass from Ross Peters before turning on the afterburners, skipping past a few half-hearted challenges and planting a shot to the net.

Brackens scarcely had time to catch breath when Seanie O’Connor took a pass from Colman Kennedy and drove a low shot past Beben.  

Even at that relatively early stage, it felt like game over, with the score standing at 3-5 to 0-2.

However, Commercials didn’t score again for the remainder of the first half, all of the second quarter.

Brackens gained a lifeline when Adrian Bourke smashed home a goal in the 19th minute after Eanna McBride’s shot struck the post. Further points from Dean McEnroe and Jack Kennedy offered them further encouragement and had their sizeable support in good voice, leaving the half-time score at 3-5 to 1-4.    

Clonmel Commercials: Michael O’Reilly, Tadhg Condon, James Morris, Rory O’Dowd, Kevin Fahey, Seamus Kennedy (captain), Padraic Looram (1-0), Cathal Deely (1-0), Ross Peters, Peter McGarry (1-0), Colman Kennedy (0-2), Conal Kennedy, Cian Smith, Michael Quinlivan (1-2), Seanie O’Connor (2-3, 0-2 frees).

Substitutes: Jamie Peters for Ross Peters (half time), Aldo Matassa for Conal Kennedy (38 minutes), Sean Kennedy for Cian Smith (46 minutes), Ciaran Cannon for Kevin Fahey (50 minutes), Declan Nee for James Morris (55 minutes). 

JK Brackens: Kuba Beben, Luke Ormond, Lorcan Egan, Martin Delaney, Stephen Cahill, Neil Quinlan, Jack Nevin (0-1) Paddy Cadell, Adrian Bourke (1-0), Eanna McBride (0-1), Cathal Scully (captain), Conor Cadell, Lyndon Fairbrother, Jack Kennedy (1-3, 1-0 penalty, 0-2 frees), Dean McEnroe (0-1).

Substitutes: Shane Doyle for Dean McEnroe (26 minutes), Jordan Moloney for Cathal Scvully (half-time), Andrew Ormonmd for Lyndon Fairbrother (39 minutes), David O’Shea for Lorcan Egan (48 minutes), Shane Scully for Eanna McBride (55 minutes).

Referee: Derek O’Mahoney (Ardfinnan).