County Senior Football Championship Round-up

By Michael Dundon

Group 1

Holders, Clonmel Commercials had the easiest of wins over a disappointing Eire Og Annacarty, 3-18 to 0-2 in Cashel on Saturday.

This was never a contest. Michael Quinlivan had a Commercials goal after four minutes and with Colman Kennedy (3), Jack Kennedy (2), Cathal Deely, and Sean Condon all finding the range, Commercials led at half-time 1-9 to 0-1.

Any hopes Eire Og had of making a fight of it in the second half were crushed when Sean Kennedy bagged Commercials’ second goal in the 33rd minute. There followed a succession of points from Jack Kennedy, Sean Kennedy and Kevin Fahey before Colman Kennedy put the final nail in Annacarty’s coffin with Commercials third goal after 55 minutes.

In the second game of the double-header in Cashel, Drom & Inch inflicted a second defeat on a fancied Kilsheelan/Kilcash, 1-11 to 1-10.

A youthful Kilsheelan/Kilcash failed to match the guile and experience of the Mid Tipp side who dominated possession in the second half and who would have won by more were it not for some wasteful shooting, as well as three points in the space of two minutes from Kilsheelan’s outstanding player, Jamie Roche.

Roche kicked eight of his side’s points, with Emmet Butler and Tommy O’Connor scoring a point each and team captain Daire Brennan hitting a first half goal, cancelled out by Stevie Nolan for Drom & Inch who had a better spread, with eight players on the scoreboard, including Jamie Moloney with three from play and influential captain David Butler, whose two points from play included the winning score.

Drom & Inch face the holders Clonmel Commercials who are unbeaten, in the third round, while Kilsheelan take on Eire Og Annacarty needing a win. Commercials are through almost to the quarter-finals while Eire Og have a tricky assignment against Kilsheelan if they are to make the last eight and they will have to get some kind of a result as their score difference is now very weak.

Group 3

Cahir put in a strong finish to edge out Arravale Rovers 1-12 to 1-10 in Golden on Sunday.

Having lost to Upperchurch/Drombane in round one, Cahir needed to take the points to keep themselves in the chase for a qualifying spot but for three quarters of the game Rovers looked most likely to succeed. Cormac Maher’s goal after twenty minutes endorsed their first half superiority and with Mikey O’Dwyer a real live wire in the Rovers attack, notching two points, they led at half-time 1-7 to 0-5.

Nine minutes into the second half, Cahir levelled when Jake Kiely netted (1-7 each) but Arravale again hit the front through O’Dwyer (2) and Donough Leahy. Once more Cahir rallied. Former county man Casey levelled for in the 56th minute and in injury time he nudged them ahead and Conor O’Brien sealed their win with a further point.

Group 4

A big upset in round 2 of the County Senior Football Championship was the defeat of Moyle Rovers, a side that has consistently challenged for the top honours over the last decade. They went under 1-11 to 0-12 to Rockwell Rovers in atrocious conditions at Cahir on Friday evening.

Hero of the Rockwell team was goalie Eoghan Doyle who kicked five points from frees. Moyle Rovers, with the wind behind them, opened well with three points but in the 15th minute Aidan Barron netted for Rockwell after a Tom Tobin effort rebounded off the woodwork. Stephen Quirke kicked two points for Rockwell, and Liam Boland four from frees. The sides were level 1-4 to 0-7 at half-time.

Rockwell had the better of the early stages of the second half to establish a 1-10 to 0-9 lead with ten minutes to go. Moyle Rovers finished strongly with points from Boland (2) and Stephen Quirke, but time ran out on them, and they now find themselves faced with beating Ballyporeen in the final round to have any chance of making the quarter finals, but also escaping relegation.