Tipperary senior football champions Clonmel Commercials pushed all the way by Kilsheelan

Clonmel Commercials 3-7 Kilsheelan/Kilcash 3-6

Red hot favourites and county champions Clonmel Commercials had to use all their experience to take the points in this first round County Senior Football Championship game played in Ardfinnan on Saturday last.

They came up against a rampant Kilsheelan/Kilcash side that featured quite a few young players who were making their first appearance at this level.

Kilsheelan had the slight advantage of the wind in the first half and they made the best use possible of it. The game was close and exciting all through, with some excellent high fielding and some class scores taken by both sides. One could describe it as an excellent game of football if you took out the modern trend of back passing and lateral play adopted by both sides at times, which is so boring for spectators.

Commercials were first on the attack and threatened to overrun Kilsheelan. But with Daire Brennan to the fore in defence they were overturned as they got into scoring range, and the ball was moved swiftly down the field. When a high ball was punched across the goal the inrushing Miceal Freaney fisted the ball to the net.

This was the start that the underdogs needed and they continued to pressurise the Commercials defence.

Michael Quinlivan opened the scoring for Commercials with a fine point with the elements against him and points from Billy O’Connor and Jamie Roche left Kilsheelan ahead by 1-2 to 0-1 after seven minutes.

As the half progressed Commercials began to get up to the pace of the game and had a glorious chance of a goal when overturning a short pass out of the Kilsheelan defence. However, the ball trickled across the face of an empty goal but the touch of a hand from a defender retrieved the danger and the chance was lost.

Kilsheelan moved the ball swiftly out of defence after this let-off and after a fine passing movement Barry Kehoe delivered to Jamie Roche, who rattled the net.

Commercials dominated the second quarter to a certain extent. They brought Michael Quinlivan out from full forward to the half line, as he was getting no change from Daire Brennan. Quinlivan began to win possession and bring other players into the game. He pointed a free to narrow the gap and points in succession from Jack Kennedy, Cian Smith and Conal Kennedy left just two points between the sides as the break approached.

Kilsheelan, however, were not finished and a great run by Mark Kehoe, which split the Commercials defence, resulted in a pass to Miceal Freaney, who punched to the net for his second goal.

The half-time score was Kilsheelan 3-2 Commercials 0-6.

Commercials had a deficit of five points to make up and they got down to the task fairly quickly in the second half. A short kickout was overturned and collected by Cian Smith, who had a clear path to goal, and he made no mistake with a low shot to the corner of the net.

Commercials were now dominating and Kilsheelan found it hard to get the ball past the centerfield area. Worse was to come for them, as Seamus Kennedy broke through the defence to crack an unstoppable shot past Cian Quinn in the Kilsheelan goal.

Jamie Roche pulled a point back for his side from a free and with fifteen minutes left just a point separated the sides.

The last quarter saw some great passages of play, with the exchanges fairly even. Kilsheelan recovered from the shock of conceding two goals and with Jamie Roche in excellent form they went ahead with two great points, one from a free.

Commercials suffered a setback when Kevin Fahey was black-carded and they were reduced to 14 players.

As time ticked away, a fast ball downfield broke to Sean Kennedy, who found a path to goal and made no mistake with a bullet-like shot to the net.

Jack Kennedy received a second yellow card at a vital time when Commercials needed the full complement of players.

Kilsheelan made every effort to reduce the deficit as time ticked away and Commercials ran down the clock. A great move upfield saw Jamie Roche score a great point to leave just the minimum between the sides at the final whistle.

Both sides will take something away from this game. Commercials may have expected an easier passage but you cannot take any side for granted and the challenge they got will stand to them. They had excellent players throughout the field, with Kevin Fahey and Tadhg Condon playing important roles in defence and both sets of Kennedy brothers made huge contributions.

Cian Smith took his scores well and while Michael Quinlivan’s shooting might not have been up to his usual standard he was always a threat.

Kilsheelan will be delighted with the performances of their younger players, which augers well for their forthcoming games; they will be disappointed not to have at least shared the spoils, as they had the chances.

Daire Brennan was top class at full back but when pulled out of that area by opponents his presence was missed. Ru Kelly and Jason Madigan fought hard all through while the half back line held their own against strong opposition.

Mark Kehoe and Billy Murphy were on top at centre field, particularly in the first half, while up front all the forwards contributed well, with Barry Kehoe making some great catches and great passes. Miceal Freaney’s two goals were a huge contribution while Jamie Roche was the star forward on view.

Commercials: Shane Ryan, Rory O’Dowd, Cathal McGeever, Kevin Fahey, Tadhg Condon, Seamus Kennedy (1-0), Padraic Looram, Jack Kennedy (0-3), Cathal Deely, Conal Kennedy (0-1), Colman Kennedy, Sean Kennedy (1-0), Cian Smith (1-1), Michael Quinlivan (0-2), Ross Peters.

Sub: Kieran Gannon for Sean Kennedy.

Kilsheelan/Kilcash: Cian Quinn, Ru Kelly, Daire Brennan, Jason Madigan, Emmet Butler, Mark Stokes, Billy O’Connor (0-1), Mark Kehoe, Billy Murphy, Miceal Freaney (2-0), Sean Martin, Tommy O’Connor, Jamie Roche (1-5), Barry Kehoe, Senan Butler.

Subs: Jake French Davis for Emmet Butler, Eoin Barry for Billy Murphy, Conor Neville for Jason Madigan.

Referee: Derek O’Mahoney (Ardfinnan).