Preview: Munster Club SFC Semi-Finals
Preview: Munster Club SFC Semi-Finals
Preview: Munster Club SFC Semi-Finals
The Munster senior football club semi-finals take place this Sunday, with games in Cork and Clonmel.
Sunday, November 15
AIB Munster Senior Club Football Championship Semi-Finals
Legion (Kerry) v Nemo Rangers (Cork), Páirc Ui Rinn, 2pm
A somewhat unusual semi-final is scheduled for Páirc Ui Rinn on Sunday. It pits the Cork champions against a side that have not yet won their county title, and who face a replay against South Kerry in the Kerry final the weekend after this.
Legion's draw with South Kerry in the Kerry final last Sunday combined with the continued presence of South Kerry club St Mary's in the Munster Intermediate Championship created plenty of scheduling challenges. Something had to give considering the impending fixtures in the Munster Senior Championship, and the decision was taken that Legion would represent Kerry in Munster, regardless of the outcome of the final replay.
Given that, as a divisional side, South Kerry couldn't represent Kerry in the provincial series anyway, there might appear at first hand to be little surprising about that. However, the practice has been that in the event of a divisional team winning the Senior Championship, the winners of the Kerry Club Championship - a separate competition - go on to represent the county at provincial level. Dingle won that competition this year, but the scheduling uncertainties meant Legion were sent forward.
Legion may yet win the Kerry senior title, but until that time they are in a somewhat bizarre position, taking on the mighty Nemo in a provincial game without their county challenge having been completed. Given how important Legion's bid to win the Kerry title is to them - they haven't won it since 1946 - it would be understandable if their focus was a tad clouded this weekend.
Regardless, they face Nemo on Sunday and the winners will be in the Munster final on November 29. Nemo Rangers, seven-time All-Ireland champions, won their first Cork title in five years last month and last Saturday night, they followed it up with a straightforward win over Waterford champions Stradbally.
Yet that game too was played in surreal circumstances, Stradbally having only been crowned Waterford champions 24 hours earlier. Nemo did their job though, with James Masters on form with 1-5 alongside strong contributions from other Nemo talismen such as Paul Kerrigan, Kevin Fulignati, Tomás Ó Sé, David Niblock, Alan Cronin and Colin O'Brien.
However they manage it, Legion will have to recover from last week's draw with South Kerry to muster a sufficient challenge to face Nemo. On top of that, they will have to remain fresh enough to be ready for what remains their biggest target, the Kerry final the following weekend. Should they win against Nemo, regardless of the result against South Kerry, they will be in action again the following weekend in the Munster final. So, busy times ahead.
Milltown St Joseph's (Clare) v Clonmel Commercials (Tipperary), Clonmel, 2pm
The Clare and Tipperary senior football champions meet in Clonmel on Sunday afternoon with a place in the Munster final at stake.
Unlike Munster senior football at inter-county level, sides from outside Cork and Kerry are often highly competitive at club level in the province. Last year, Waterford side The Nire ran Austin Stacks very close in the final while Cratloe of Clare were extremely close to downing Dr. Crokes in 2013. Throw into the mix the wins of Kilmurry-Ibrickane (2004, 2009) and Doonbeg (1998) and it's quickly apparent that old stereotypes are redundant here.
This is St Joseph's, Milltown's first outing since they ended a 25-year wait for a Clare title with victory over Cooraclare in the county final last month. Coming from Milltown-Malbay, right in the football heartland of west Clare, St Joseph's have quality up front with the likes of Eoin Cleary, Kevin Keavey, Kieran Malone and the three Curtins, Joe, Eoin and Brian.
As for Commercials, they were out two weeks ago, defeating Newcastle West in a thrilling encounter that saw them come from four points down with just five minutes to go. Aldo Matassa, Ian Barnes, Pádraig Looram and Séamus Kennedy were the heroes of the sensational revival, which saw Commercials kick the final six points of the game in a flurry of action right at the death.
Michael Quinlivan, Kennedy, Jason Lonergan and Ian Fahey are key figures for Commercials, who are bidding to reach their fifth Munster final and a first since 1994. The winners will face Legion or Nemo Rangers in the Munster final on November 29.
Previews: Arthur Sullivan
