Clonmel Commercials win local derby to reach Tipperary County Senior Football Championship final

Clonmel Commercials 1-15 Moyle Rovers 0-9

Clonmel Commercials went through the gears in the second half of Sunday's FBD Insurance County Senior Football Championship semi-final to wrap up a 9-points victory and secure a place in the final for the fourth year in a row, and for a fifth time in six years.
The scoreline, however, doesn't reflect the difficulties that the favourites encountered during a first half in Golden in which their neighbours Moyle Rovers were the better team.
After 22 minutes the Powerstown/Lisronagh side led by 0-6 to 0-2, following a purple patch during which they really stamped their authority on the game. Commercials, however, battled well in the face of adversity to take much closer order by half-time, when they trailed by just a point, 0-7 to 0-6.  
They shrugged off two missed opportunities for goals, the loss of influential midfielder Aldo Matassa through injury and a black card for Colman Kennedy to claw their way back into the game.

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Commercials were a very different proposition in the second period, as they gradually opened up a commanding lead while restricting Rovers to just two points, as the Powerstown/Lisronagh team struggled to replicate the fluency of their first half performance.
Jason Lonergan's free brought the teams level for the third and final time six minutes into the second half, and the same player added another score from a free a minute later, after referee Sean Everard had blown for a foul before Sean O'Connor put the ball in the net.
As the half developed, Commercials finally found a rhythm that had proved elusive in the first half. Several players were involved in the move that saw Sean O'Connor make it 0-9 to 0-7 in the 39th minute, and when O'Connor intercepted a wayward Moyle Rovers pass two minutes later he supplied Jason Lonergan with the assist for another point.
It took Moyle Rovers 14 minutes to register their opening score of the second half, which came from Rian Quigley following a good move between Shane Foley and Rory Collins.
However, the tide had already turned by that stage, despite the fact that just two points separated the sides. With Seamus Kennedy, now operating in a more advanced role; James Morris, Jason Lonergan, Jack Kennedy, Michael Quinlivan, Sean O'Connor and company beginning to stretch their legs, Commercials kicked for home in impressive fashion in the final quarter.
Ross Peters teed up Seamus Kennedy for a point on the three-quarter mark, with Sean O'Connor (from a free) and Jason Lonergan adding points to leave it 0-13 to 0-8 with ten minutes remaining.
As Rovers tried desperately to respond, Shane Foley struck a post as they searched for a point and they suffered a further blow when they lost Morgan Irwin to a clack card. With five minutes of normal time remaining, Commercials were deprived of Kevin Fahey's services when he received a black and a red card, although by that stage they were firmly in control.
Rovers were unable to mount the grandstand finish they needed to get back into contention, despite a Liam Boland free (only their second score of the half) that cut the deficit to five points with four minutes of normal time remaining.
As the game petered out, Rovers' Shane Foley was issued with a black card, while in the third minute of additional time Jack Kennedy tucked a penalty low into the corner of the net, beyond the reach of goalie Ciaran Kenrick, to add some gloss to the scoreline for Commercials.
As they prepare for the decider against surprise packets and debut finalists Upperchurch/Drombane on October 16, Commercials will be looking for a more consistent performance if they're to capture a third title in four years.
They were way off the pace for much of the opening half, although they would have been encouraged by the manner in which they recovered. The depth of the panel is a major advantage too, with James Morris, Ross Peters and Peter McGarry all making significant cameo appearances from the bench.
The late penalty was awarded when Morris and another impact sub, Peter McGarry, combined to create a goalscoring opportunity, which was only halted when McGarry was taken down.
The manner in which Commercials eventually exerted a stranglehold on the game was in stark contrast to the opening 20 minutes. In the course of a stodgy opening period, when it took both teams time to settle, Commercials' Jack Kennedy and Jason Lonergan and Rovers' Diarmuid Foley (from a free) and Rory Collins traded early scores.
However, with Ben Owens, Diarmuid Foley, Danny Owens, Rian Quigley and captain Liam Boland all prominent, Rovers began to dominate. Quigley had a point in the 14th minute and Liam Boland judged the flight of the crossfield wind to perfection to steer another point between the posts from a free four minutes later.
Liam Boland added another point before Dara Ryan had Rovers' fourth point without reply to leave it 0-6 to 0-2 in their favour by the 22nd minute.
Commercials finally awoke from their slumber in the closing minutes of the half. Sean O'Connor's converted free gave them their first score in 15 minutes, and Jason Lonergan was on target within a minute. Jack Kennedy kicked their third point in the space of two minutes, with Liam Boland and Jack Kennedy (from a free) exchanging further scores before the half's conclusion.
Both sides could have gone to the break with healthier tallies - Rovers had six wides in the opening half, compared to three for Commercials, who also saw Jason Lonergan and Cathal Deely miss chances for goals.       
  
Clonmel Commercials: Michael O'Reilly, Enda Dunphy, Seamus Kennedy (0-1), Jamie Peters (captain), Tadhg Condon, Kevin Fahey, Padraic Looram, Aldo Matassa, Michael Quinlivan, Conal Kennedy, Jason Lonergan (0-7, 3 frees), Cathal Deely, Colman Kennedy, Sean O'Connor (0-4, 2 frees), Jack Kennedy (1-3, 1-0 penalty, 0-1 free).
Substitutes: James Morris for Aldo Matassa (27 minutes), Donal Lynch for Enda Dunphy (half-time), Ross Peters for Colman Kennedy (42 minutes), Peter McGarry for Conal Kennedy (46 minutes), Cian Smith for Jason Lonergan (63 minutes).
Moyle Rovers: Ciaran Kenrick, Aidan Foley, Morgan Irwin, Cillian Crowe, Luke Boland, Jack Harney, Diarmuid Mulcahy, Ben Owens, Rory Collins (0-1), Dara Ryan (0-1), Danny Owens, Diarmuid Foley (0-1 free), Shane Foley, Liam Boland (0-4, 3 frees), Rian Quigley (0-2).
Substitutes: David McGrath for Aidan Foley (41 minutes), Sean Cotter for Diarmuid Foley (47 minutes), Conor McGrath for Diarmuid Mulcahy (51 minutes), Craig Condon for Ben Owens (58 minutes), Luke Delahunty for Dara Ryan (60 minutes).
Referee: Sean Everard (Moyne/Templetuohy).