Tipperary football champions have 'no fear' going to Cork to play Nemo Rangers

Clonmel Commercials and Nemo Rangers have history. 

In the past eight seasons the clubs have met in two Munster Club Senior Football Championship finals, with the honours shared evenly.

Commercials made the breakthrough for Tipperary clubs in 2015 when becoming the first and so far only club from the county to lift the provincial crown courtesy of their one-point win in Mallow, with Cork kingpins Nemo gaining revenge in 2019 with a 0-15 to 0-6 success in Dungarvan.

The clubs meet again, this time in the Munster championship quarter-final, at 7.15 this Saturday evening at Páirc Uí Chaoimh.

And while the game may not be a final, it still holds sufficient appeal for it to be shown live on RTE 2 television.

By the time the game begins, Commercials will have had one day shy of four weeks to gather themselves and prepare for their trip into the lion’s den since a relatively comfortable 1-10 to 1-2 victory over Upperchurch/Drombane in the county final, which wrapped up a 20th title and a third success in four years.

According to their manager Tommy Morrissey, they have benefitted from the break, using the time “to heal the bodies” and prepare for this much stiffer test. In the last few weeks they played a challenge against Naas in Portlaoise. 

“We won it by a couple of points, and more importantly it also gave game time to those players on the panel who hadn’t appeared in the county final, as well as offering others the opportunity to get the county final out of their system,” says Morrissey.

“We’ve used more players in the championship and challenges this year than in previous years,” he says. 

The game against Naas was the only challenge they played since the county final. The manager says that everything else has been kept “in-house” and they’ve also tried to keep bodies fresh, with several players also involved in Under 19 football and hurling with Commercials and St Mary’s, as well as others who lined out with St Mary’s Premier Intermediate hurling team.

“We were also eager to work on things internally and sharpen up, as well as resting,” he says.

With pitches so soft following heavy rain in recent weeks, he says that players need three to four days to properly recover between matches.

Tommy Morrissey says he was very impressed with Nemo Rangers in their 1-16 to 2-9 defeat of St Finbarr’s in the Cork county final.

“It was hard not to be impressed. They were clearly very much up for this match, after they had been written off in some quarters. They were far superior in the county final, especially their movement to the ball and off the ball. Their inside forward line was extremely strong.”

Commercials find themselves in the unusual position of going into the game as underdogs, the first time they will have worn that tag since the Munster final against the same opponents three years ago.

Nemo, with 17 Munster titles to their credit, are 1/5 favourites to advance to a semi-final meeting with Limerick representatives Newcastle West on November 27, with Commercials 4/1 and the draw an 11/1 chance.

“It’s new territory,” says Tommy Morrissey.

“I think it (being underdogs) will suit us and we’re going down to play a team that also likes to play an open brand of football. It’s hard not to be looking forward to  a game under lights on a pitch like Páirc Uí Chaoimh.” 

He says there’s no doubt that Nemo are strong in possession and they tend to have a lot of possession in their games, as do Commercials.

“We have the players who are very capable of holding onto the ball and playing the possession game.

“In this scenario, when they (Nemo) have the ball we are going to have to work together as a unit to turn it over.

“Everybody is going to have to work a lot harder off the ball.” 

Tommy Morrissey finds himself in the unusual position of having taken over as manager in the middle of the season, after Robbie O’Dwyer, who was appointed at the beginning of the year, stepped down for personal reasons.

Has it been a difficult experience for him?

“Having known most of the players since they were underage has made it a lot easier. I know the personalities in the dressing room and I know the other selectors well (they include former Commercials players Philly Ryan and Fergal O’Callaghan and former Fethard player Paul Fitzgerald).

“We all get on well inside and outside the dressing room. The players have embraced the change. It’s all about the greater cause. We all have the same agenda and we all want Commercials to succeed.”

Two players, Donal Lynch and Ian Fahey, have been ruled out of the big game.

“Donal Lynch had been going well in training and played well in the challenge against Naas, but has picked up a hand injury. Ian Fahey had returned to training but broke down in training on Sunday.

“I’m disappointed for the two boys because of the effort they’ve made.”

As he looks ahead to Saturday’s quarter-final, Tommy Morrissey says “these things don’t happen every year. It’s all about making sure you play the occasion as much as the match.

“It’s a brilliant opportunity for the players. There are Munster Club senior medals, All-Ireland and Munster minor medals and All-Ireland senior hurling medals among the group.

“They don’t hold fear.”