Clonmel High School had too much firepower in Tipperary Under 19 football final

Clonmel High School 3-13  Cashel Community School 0-4 

Clonmel High School put the disappointment of their Munster final defeat behind them to win the County Post Primary Schools Under 19 A Football title with a comprehensive 18-points win over Cashel Community School on the grass pitch at Fethard Town Park.

The experience of their impressive run to the provincial final was reflected in their high tempo display that swept aside the challenge of the Cashel school.

The game was virtually decided by half-time, when the High School led 3-6 to no score. That lead didn’t flatter them as they totally dominated play and had another goal ruled out for an infringement.

Cashel Community School never got to the pace of the game in the first half, failing to close down the space that the Clonmel attack revelled in. Cashel did have their chances and some fine attacks deserved better.

However, turnovers proved costly and when they coughed up possession, the High School generally went on to punish them with a score at the other end.

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Their goals came from Jamal Yousif, Conal Morrisson and team captain Mikey McGuire, with Briain Morrisson and Dylan McCormack hitting 0-3 and 0-2 respectively from play.

McGuire and Luke Foley were dominant at midfield, with a superb defence, in which Rian Galko, Harry Lawlor and Andy Ryan excelled, restricting Cashel to just two points from play over the hour.

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There was no way back from a 15-points deficit for Cashel in the second half, but they upped their performance considerably and lost the half by just seven points to four.

Much of their best play went through team captain Charlie Walsh, with Harry Hickey and Conor Fogarty also heavily involved.
Rory O’Mahoney, Willie Colville and Gavin Ryan worked hard in defence, with goalkeeper Patrick O’Donoghue making a series of outstanding saves when Clonmel looked certain to add to their goals tally.

The tone was set in the opening 17 seconds when High School won the throw-in and worked the ball quickly upfield, with Luke Foley providing the final pass for Mikey McGuire to point when a goal looked on.

However, the first goal followed within a minute when an Aaron McAndrew shot came back off the upright and Jamal Yousif was quickest to react to shoot low to the net.

Cashel were settling into the game but when an attack broke down, High School transitioned at speed and following good play from Yousif, Conal Morrisson goaled to make it 2-1 to no score after eight minutes. Briain Morrisson hit two points in the space of a minute, the first after jinking his way through the cover, and the second after Cashel failed again to retain their own ball.

Cashel’s first scoring chance came in the 14th minute when a good move ended with a foul on Edmond Blake, but Briain O’Donoghue failed to point the free from a tight angle.

The scoring continued at the other end when another turnover saw Finn Napier and McGuire transition the ball from defence to attack for Yousif to point, followed by another from Conor Freaney.

The game was put to bed – if there had ever been any doubt – when High School scored their third goal after a lofted ball into the danger area was fisted to the net by McGuire nine minutes from the break.

A Foley free two minutes later was the High School’s only other score in the last ten minutes of the half, but the 15-points cushion was always going to be enough.

With Sean White coming on late in the first half, and Aaron Twomey introduced at half-time, Cashel deserve tremendous credit for the way they took the game to Clonmel in the second thirty minutes. Tommy O’Connor threatened the Clonmel defence following a probing run, before Charlie Walsh played a true captain’s part with a superb point for their opening score in the second minute.

Foley replied from a free and Dylan McCormack had the High School’s second of the half to push out the lead. But Cashel were now giving their supporters something to cheer about, with Walsh fielding a brilliant ball, and then pointing a free to make it 3-8 to 0-2 in the 42nd minute.

The Clonmel side came back again, with Yousif providing the assist for McAndrew to score, and Dylan McCormack pointing off the upright. Cashel’s third of the game came from Edmond Blake midway through the half.

With both sides emptying their bench, the final quarter was little more than playing out time. David Ryan, with a lovely point from an acute angle, Briain Morrisson and Jamal Yousif completed the High School scoring, with Charlie Walsh pointing a Cashel free for the last score of the game.

So, a successful conclusion for Clonmel High School to a season that saw them ruffle feathers in Munster, with wins over two Kerry teams, before losing to the highly-rated Tralee CBS in the final.

These players, most of whom will now have played their final game in the red and black before finishing their secondary education, have a prized county medal in their collection.

Footnote: The grass pitch at Fethard Town Park was in superb condition, despite all the recent heavy rain.

Scorers: Clonmel High School: Jamal Yousif 1-2, Mikey McGuire 1-1, Briain Morrisson 0-3, Conal Morrisson 1-0, Dylan McCormack 0-2, Luke Foley 0-2 frees, David Ryan, Aaron McAndrew, Conor Freaney 0-1 each.
Cashel Community School: Charlie Walsh 0-3, 2 frees; Edmond Blake 0-1.

Clonmel High School: James O’Brien, John Lyons, Rian Galko, Harry Lawlor, Conal Morrisson, Andy Ryan, David Ryan, Mikey McGuire, Luke Foley, Aaron McAndrew, Jamal Yousif, Briain Morrisson, Conor Freaney, Finn Napier, Dylan McCormack.
Subs: Brandon Landers for Conal Morrisson, Jack Kealy for Aaron McAndrew, Caolan O’Dea for John Lyons, Kieran Fanning for Rian Galko, Rian Wyse for Dylan McCormack.

Cashel Community School: Patrick O’Donoghue, Gavin Ryan, Rory O’Mahoney, Harry Fogarty, Tommy O’Connor, Noah O’Flynn, Willie Colville, Shane Cooney, Eoin Rice, Edmond Blake, Charlie Walsh, Harry Hickey, Briain O’Donoghue, Conor Fogarty, Eimhin Ryan.
Subs: Sean White for Eoin Rice, Aaron Twomey for Noah O’Flynn, Evan Ryan for Eimhin Ryan, Olan O’Gorman for Briain O’Donoghue, Eoghan White for Edmond Blake.

Referee: Conor O’Brien (Eire Og Annacarty).