Dingle 0-13
Clonmel Commercials 0-10
WHEN DINGLE NEEDED inspiration in a tight and tequnse Munster senior semi-final, their prized names delivered against Clonmel Commercials to ensure their long trip to Thurles was rewarding.
Jack Kennedy drilled over a superb point to bring Clonmel within one on the stroke of full time, leaving Dingle clinging to a narrow advantage, 0-11 to 0-10.
Then the West Kerry men found the critical scoring touch in injury time. All-Star defender Tom O’Sullivan wandered upfield, exchanged passes with Paul Geaney before hooking over a point, then the Dingle captain and Kerry senior rounded off victory with the insurance score that shoved the winners three clear.
Away from those prominent figures, it was Dylan Geaney who was instrumental in shaping this Dingle success. His classy shooting provided five points from play, three notched with his right and two with his left. He exploded to life in the second half, as did his brother Conor, and that increased influence of Dingle’s star forwards turned the game in their favour.
When Colman Kennedy lofted over a point on the cusp of half-time, profiting from a long Michael O’Reilly kickout, it edged Clonmel ahead 0-5 to 0-4 at the break. They were full value for that, well structured in defence, denying early space to a Dingle attack that chalked up five wides.
Sean O’Connor was their prime target man inside and Jack Kennedy enjoyed some sparkling moments at midfield. Michael Quinlivan kicked a wonderful point in the 52nd minute after Clonmel enjoyed a prolonged spell of possession yet his offensive input was largely reduced, with the duel between himself and Tom O’Sullivan a major focus in the game between significant performers.
The Tipperary champions had cause to bemoan the two goal chances they didn’t capitalise on. Sean O’Connor unleashed a 12th minute drive that was deflected onto the upright by the covering defence, while Tom Leo O’Sullivan later got back in time to block a piledriver from Colman Kennedy.
They couldn’t engineer a powerful scoring flow in the second half. For the second successive year, the Tipperary champions saw their provincial hopes crumble at the semi-final stage.
A grinding battle ensued in the first half, the teams level on four occasions, and neither creating daylight on the scoreboard. Matthew Flaherty supplied two impressively-struck points for a Dingle team that benefitted whenever they managed to attack at pace, as evidenced by the move that saw Paul Geaney point in the 26th minute.
Commercials had plenty reason to be satisfied with how the opening period had panned out. They restricted Dingle to four points but it was telling that the Kerry club winners had matched that tally in their second-half output within eight minutes of the resumption. They placed greater emphasis on squeezing O’Reilly’s kickout, illustrated by the response to Dylan Geaney’s 37th minute score, Dingle turning over a subsequent Clonmel kickout to fashion another effort for the same player.
Dylan and Conor hit a combined four points in that early second-half period, and overall contributed six of Dingle’s nine second-half scores. It was a level of accuracy and incisiveness which proved telling.
The game remained within the reach of Clonmel for long stages, O’Connor pointing one mark after a tremendous piece of high fielding. But Clonmel were never level in the final quarter, Dingle protecting that advantage and adding the flourish in front of goal to propel them over the line.
Scorers for Dingle: Dylan Geaney 0-5, Conor Geaney 0-2, Paul Geaney 0-2, Matthew Flaherty 0-2, Barry Dan O’Sullivan 0-1, Tom O’Sullivan 0-1.
Scorers for Clonmel Commercials: Seanie O’Connor 0-4 (0-2f, 0-2 mark), Jack Kennedy 0-2, Michael Quinlivan 0-1, Colman Kennedy 0-1, Peter McGarry 0-1
Dingle
1. Gavin H Curran
2. Tom Leo O’Sullivan, 5. Niall Geaney, 6. Conor Flannery
18. Micheál Flannery, 7. Brian O’Connor, 4. Tom O’Sullivan
17. Darragh O’Sullivan
8. Barry Dan O’Sullivan, 9. Billy O’Connor
12. Matthew Flaherty, 14. Conor Geaney, 10. Mikey Geaney
15. Dylan Geaney, 11. Paul Geaney (captain)
Subs
- 23. Tadhg Browne for Flannery (55)
- 3. Conor O’Sullivan for Brian O’Connor (62)
Clonmel Commercials
1. Michael O’Reilly
6. Séamus Kennedy (captain), 3. James Morris, 2. Tadgh Condon
4. Rory O’Dowd, 5. Kevin Fahey, 7. Padraic Looram
13. Ross Peters
12. Aldo Matassa, 9. Jack Kennedy
8. Cathal Deely, 11. Colman Kennedy, 14. Michael Quinlivan
10. Peter McGarry, 15. Seanie O’Connor
Subs
- 18. Jamie Peters for Fahey (inj) (37)
- 19. Ciaran Cannon for Matassa (58)
- 17. Decky Nee for Ross Peters (60)
Referee: John Ryan (Cork)
