Clonmel star out for Crokes test

Colman Kennedy will miss Sunday’s Munster Club SFC semi-final against Dr Crokes in Killarney at 2pm, extra time if necessary.

The Clonmel Commercials centre-forward is on a soccer scholarship with UCC and their U19 team, playing under the Cork City banner, face Waterford United in the second round of the Enda McGuill Cup on Sunday. He had hoped to be freed up to play the match but a number of last-minute appeals to UCC failed to free the Tipperary All-Ireland minor football winner for the game.

Meanwhile Dr Crokes captain Kieran O’Leary insisted his side are preparing for the game as though they were taking on one of the heavyweights within the club game. “They [Clonmel] have a lot of talented players and they have players who have beaten Kerry teams,” he said. “You have to treat your opponents with respect because they have achieved the top spot in their county, and if you look at the counties that have produced All-Ireland Club finalists, like Carlow, Wicklow, Westmeath, Antrim, Roscommon. None are from counties that have All-Ireland senior intercounty winning pedigree.

“So we are taking nothing for granted. We preparing for this game as if we were playing, say, a Nemo Rangers. We must get our minds right. There are no pushovers, as we found out up in Clare in the last round, in this competition particularly at this time of the year when the sod is heavy.

“This is not summer football. You can anticipate where the ball will go, so it’s all about coping with the conditions and how you mentally prepare.”