Powerful Clonmel Commercials are crowned south Tipperary Under 17 A football champions

Clonmel Commercials 3-7 Moyle Rovers 0-6

A wonderful year for Clonmel Commercials at senior and underage level continued in Fethard on Saturday morning when their under 17 A side proved much too strong for local rivals Moyle Rovers in the south final.

They will now hope to emulate the seniors and under 19s by going on to claim the county crown.

A merry-go-round of venues saw the game originally fixed for Ballyporeen, then scheduled for Killenaule and finally ending up on the superb all-weather pitch in Fethard, which suited the free-flowing football of Commercials perfectly.

A physically imposing side, they took the game to Rovers from the start, with Michael Connellan and Mark Corcoran imperious at midfield and Tadhg Sheehan, Darragh Landers and captain Darragh O’Connor lethal in attack.

Sheehan bagged two goals, with Landers getting the third, and they were the scores that separated the sides at the final whistle. Persistent rain and a strong breeze made conditions difficult for football but the quality of the all-weather surface compensated to allow for a thoroughly enjoyable local derby.

Moyle Rovers contributed hugely to the spectacle with some excellent play, but too often their attacks broke down with the goalposts in sight. They lacked the physicality of the Clonmel defenders, with under 19 county medal winner Alex McSherry in outstanding form, and Niall Deely and Billy Tierney also in fine form.

Cathal O’Gorman led the Rovers attack in fine style, with two points from play and one from a free, and Darragh Walsh always posed a threat at full forward. However, their four points from play over the hour couldn’t match Commercials’ 3-6 from open play.

The town side started like a train and wave after wave of attack saw them three points up in four minutes. Their only point from a free in the entire game came when Landers was fouled in the first minute and Darragh O’Connor converted.

Two minutes later Tadhg Sheehan pointed after a patient build-up and in the fourth minute a great move that involved O’Connor, Alex Creed and Mark Corcoran saw Landers finish off with a point.

A sustained period of Moyle Rovers pressure saw Killian Butler open their account in the ninth minute, but Commercials continued to be the better side and scores from Jack Lawlor and Niall Deely had them 0-5 to 0-1 up midway through the half.

But again, the Powerstown/Lisronagh side upped the ante and when Killian Butler was fouled after taking a pass from Cathal O’Gorman, O’Gorman stepped up to point the free, and followed up a minute later with a great point from play to the reduce the margin to two points.

However, one of the game’s decisive moments followed immediately, when a flowing move ended with Tadhg Sheehan kicking a super goal. Rovers defence was cut open again when Landers hit a lovely point and suddenly daylight had emerged between the sides, Commercials leading 1-6 to 0-3 five minutes from the break.

But this Rovers side were nothing if not resilient and they had it back to a four-points game again by half- time, 1-6 to 0-5. Darragh Walsh hit a fine point and team captain Jake Forrestal pointed a free following a foul on Killian Butler.

That left the tie in the melting pot for the second half but with the conditions worsening, the second thirty minutes became an attritional battle with just four scores, crucially three to Commercials, including two goals.

Both sides struggled to settle and with missed chances at both ends, the first score of the half didn’t come until the twelfth minute when substitute Cillian McNamara hit a great point from distance after taking a pass from the busy Alex Creed.

A minute later the game was settled with Commercials’ second goal, Tadhg Sheehan playing a tidy one-two with McNamara before finishing from close range.

The half was proving a tough test for Rovers and they didn’t trouble the umpires until six minutes from time when a free thundered off the crossbar and Cathal O’Gorman picked up the rebound to shoot over.

It was too little too late to inspire any revival and Commercials wrapped up the scoring when Darragh Landers hit his side’s third goal in the 26th minute to confirm a comfortable win.

Both sides are through to the county stages and may meet again but on the evidence of this game Commercials have the edge, with their decisive play and running off the ball cutting open the Rovers defence for the vital scores.

There was a touching trophy presentation after the game, with long-serving Moyle Rovers officer Eileen Boland presenting the Boland Cup in memory of her late husband Charlie to the Commercials captain Darragh O’Connor.

Clonmel Commercials: Cian Corcoran, Jamie O’Keeffe, Alex McSherry, Niall Deely 0-1; Thomas Charles, Billy Tierney, Harry Ryan, Michael Connellan, Mark Corcoran, Matthew Ó Ceallaigh, Tadhg Sheehan 2-1; Darragh Landers 1-2; Alex Creed, Jack Lawlor 0-1; Darragh O’Connor 0-1 free.

Subs: Cillian McNamara 0-1 for Harry Ryan, Milo McNamara for Matthew Ó Ceallaigh, Cillian Fahey for Alex Creed, James Power for Mark Corcoran, Adam Cooney for Darragh O’Connor.

Moyle Rovers: Peter Boland, Liam Maher, Davy Brennan, Ben O’Donovan, Ronan Walsh, Michael O’Reilly, Harry O’Keeffe, Killian Butler 0-1; Darragh McDonagh, Conor O’Gorman, Jake Forrestal 0-1 free; Cathal O’Gorman 0-3, 1 free; Liam McGrath, Darragh Walsh 0-1; Paddy O’Keeffe.

Subs: Cianan Power for Conor O’Gorman, John Cronin for Harry O’Keeffe, Michael Phelan for Ben O’Donovan.

Referee: Martin Doyle (Ardfinnan).