Tipperary football champions Clonmel Commercials reach the end of the road against Dingle

Dingle 0-13 Clonmel Commercials 0-10

Clonmel Commercials made good on the promise of their manager Tommy Morrissey that they wouldn’t be overawed by Dingle in Sunday’s AIB Munster Club Senior Football Championship semi-final.

However, the heroic performance of the outsiders wasn’t sufficient to rescue them from defeat by a Dingle team making the club’s first foray into the provincial senior championship, at FBD Semple Stadium on Sunday.

Dingle were pushed every inch of the way and made to work hard by the Clonmel team to earn their place in the Munster final, where they will meet Cork’s Castlehaven on the weekend of December 9/10.

In front of an attendance of 1,360, the sides were level seven times before Dingle finally stamped their authority on the contest in the closing stages, bringing Commercials’ year-long unbeaten championship run to an end, and foiling their bid to reach the provincial decider for the seventh time.

It will be little or no consolation to the Tipperary champions that they made an outstanding contribution to a closely-fought and gripping encounter. 

They had heroes all over the pitch, none more so than Seanie O’Connor and Jack Kennedy. O'Connor, their top scorer, was unlucky not to add to his tally of three goals in the previous two games, as he struck the woodwork on two occasions. He tormented the Dingle defence time and time again with his excellent fielding and pace, and proved a real handful.

Jack Kennedy shone like a beacon all afternoon, his precision, kicked passing a joy to watch and enhanced by his relentless workrate.

Ross Peters covered acres of ground as usual, always making himself available for a pass. Colman Kennedy, Rory O’Dowd, James Morris, Tadhg Condon and captain Seamus Kennedy were all terrific at various stages too, while every other player was part of a solid supporting cast.

Seanie O’Connor popped a free over the bar 12 minutes into the second half when he collected Aldo Matassa’s delivery before being fouled, having made a great catch.

That made it 0-8 each, and it was the last time the sides were level, although it took Dingle until the closing stages to fully assert their dominance.

Conor Geaney restored Dingle’s advantage and then Barry O’Sullivan made it 0-10 to 0-8. That was before Commercials responded with a Michael Quinlivan point, which concluded a remarkable passage of play during which the Clonmel team retained possession for the best part of three minutes and played a sequence of passes that ran well into double figures, with nine minutes of normal time remaining.

Commercials went close to grabbing the goal that would really have set the cat among the pigeons with a Sean O’Connor shot that struck the angle of post and crossbar in the 54th minute, to again leave just the minimum between them.

But when Dingle’s star man, corner forward Dylan Geaney, kicked his fifth point from play in the last minute of normal time, the writing was on the wall (0-11 to 0-9).

Normal time had almost elapsed when Jack Kennedy’s point kept Commercials’ hopes flickering. But those fading hopes were extinguished in additional time, with the Kerry side adding points from Tom O’Sullivan and county star Paul Geaney that sealed a victory that they just about deserved.

With so much at stake, it came as no surprise that the opening exchanges were cautious and cagey.

The Clonmel team were in front at the break by 0-5 to 0-4 after a half during which there was never more than a point between the teams, even if Dingle finished the half with five wides compared to Commercials’ one.

Dingle drew first blood in the sixth minute with a Matthew Flaherty point before Seanie O’Connor equalised from a mark a minute later.

Commercials twice threatened goals as the tie began to open up into an engaging spectacle. Collecting a sumptuous pass from Peter McGarry, Seanie O’Connor’s shot was deflected by a defender onto the woodwork in the 12th minute. 

The scores were deadlocked at 0-3 each when Commercials went close again, as Colman Kennedy’s goal-bound effort cannoned off Tom O’Sullivan, although Ross Peters scored in the follow-up with a mighty effort.

Dingle had their chances too, Tom O’Sullivan fisting an effort wide off the post when they looked like adding to their points tally on the cusp of half time.

Commercials were more successful when they went in search of a score as the half neared its conclusion, when Colman Kennedy landed a glorious left-footed effort when he worked a one-two with Ross Peters, to leave the score at the midway stage at 0-5 to 0-4 in favour of the Clonmel team. 

Commercials: Michael O’Reilly, Tadhg Condon, James Morris, Rory O’Dowd, Kevin Fahey, Seamus Kennedy (captain), Padraic Looram, Cathal Deely, Jack Kennedy (0-2), Peter McGarry (0-1), Colman Kennedy (0-1), Aldo Matassa, Ross Peters (0-1), Michael Quinlivan (0-1), Seanie O’Connor (0-4, 3 frees, 1 mark).

Substitutes: Jamie Peters for Kevin Fahey (37 minutes), Ciaran Cannon for Aldo Matassa (58 minutes), Decky Nee for Ross Peters (60 minutes).

Dingle: Gavin H Curran, Tom O’Sullivan, Micheál Flannery, Tom O’Sullivan (0-1), Niall Geaney, Conor Flannery, Brian O’Connor, Barry O’Sullivan (0-1), Billy O’Connor, Mikey Geaney, Paul Geaney (captain 0-2), Matthew Flannery (0-2), Darragh O’Sullivan, Conor Geaney (0-2), Dylan Geaney (0-5).

Substitutes: Tadhg Browne for Micheál Flannery (56 minutes), Conor O’Sullivan for Brian O’Connor (63 minutes).

Referee: John Ryan (Cork).