Intensity will be the key for Tipperary champions Clonmel Commercials in Munster semi-final

The boot will be on the other foot for Clonmel Commercials in Sunday’s AIB Munster Club Senior Football Championship semi-final against Newcastle West at FBD Semple Stadium (1pm).

The Clonmel team were given little or no chance when they travelled to Páirc Uí Chaoimh almost a fortnight ago to take on Cork champions Nemo Rangers in the quarter-final.

However, their seven-points victory has not only made them the popular fancy to beat the Limerick champions on Sunday, but has seen them installed as favourites to go all the way and win their second provincial crown.

Will that bring a new kind of pressure? Not so, according to manager Tommy Morrissey.

“The favourites tag is something we have carried every year for the last ten years in the Tipperary county championship (a period during which they’ve won six titles). It won’t affect us”, he explains.

“There was so much noise on the back of the win over Nemo and this is a new game. We have won nothing yet.

“Newcastle West will see us beating Nemo as an opportunity for them to reach the final, and we have to react to that.

“When you have a group like we have, and the spotlight is on, we have players who rise to that. They won’t go hiding, they enjoy that kind of attention and it definitely won’t faze this group.”

The Commercials manager says that Newcastle West are a very strong outfit. A couple of years ago they pushed Nemo Rangers in the provincial championship and were only beaten by a goal.

They retained the Limerick championship for the first time in their history this year when they beat fierce rivals Adare by 1-11 to 2-5 after extra-time in the final played at Kilmallock’s Fitzgerald Park.

Just like Commercials, who last month won their third county championship in four seasons, Newcastle West have also dominated the Limerick championship in recent years, as their recent success was their fourth triumph in eight seasons.

Managed by Jimmy Lee and captained by Iain Corbett, they have a wealth of experience in Mike McMahon, James Kelly and the Quilligan brothers, Michael and Thomas.

They can also call upon All-Star nominee Cian Sheehan; Diarmuid Kelly, Eoin Hurley and rising stars Ruadhan O’Connor, Emmet Rigter and Aaron Neville.

“They have players that are as good as you will come up against and we’ll have our work cut out to counteract that”, says Tommy Morrissey.

“They play a different style than Nemo. They’re a very strong outfit and are more physical than Nemo, and will try to block us up. But that is part of the challenge, it’s up to us to see if we can counteract that.

“We caught Nemo off guard and Newcastle West will be ready for that.”

Before the quarter-final the emphasis was on intensity, and Commercials will be looking for more of the same on Sunday.

“The first thing we need right is the intensity we will bring to the game. We’ll have to be in the faces of the Newcastle West players from the start.”

Tommy Morrissey says it was a nice bonus and a big boost for Commercials to have won the County Under 19 Championship final against Thurles Sarsfields last Saturday.

He said that seven of the senior panel (including James Morris, who started against Nemo Rangers, and Peter McGarry and Cian Smith, who were introduced as substitutes) were involved, and it was nice for them to have got back on the field again.

“Those players were on a high but in the same breath they’ll focus on Sunday very quickly.”

With home advantage for Sunday’s game, the Clonmel team opted for FBD Semple Stadium as the venue.

“(The) Clonmel Sportsfield (pitch) is very soft after the recent Munster Ladies Football Championship final (between Commercials and Comeragh Rangers) and a couple of schools games, and in my opinion it would have required a pitch inspection to qualify it.

“That was the main reason.

"The players also enjoy playing in a big, open field like Semple Stadium. You have to consider everything.

“The type of team we have has pace and you try to take every advantage you can.”

Tommy Morrissey confirmed that Jason Lonergan, the man of the match in the quarter-final, and who spent the week after that game in San José, California, preparing for a new job, had returned home on Monday.

The Clonmel team has no fresh injury concerns, although panel members Ian Fahey and Donal Lynch, who missed out against Nemo Rangers, won’t be available.

Cork referee David Murnane will be in charge on Sunday.