Rigter lands killer blow to end Newcastle West’s wait
SWEETEST FEELING: Diarmuid Kelly, right, and Cian Sheehan savour the moment after Newcastle West’s Munster Club SFC semi-final win over
Clonmel Commercials at FBD Semple Stadium. Pic: Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
A hurtling extra-time performance from Newcastle West shot them into their first Munster Club senior football final in 35 years.
Limerick’s first representatives in the last two since Dromcollogher-Broadford in 2008, their display in the additional periods in Thurles gave them a deserved win, although it had been fostered in forcing extra-time in a nail-biting finish to normal time.
Echoing the generous amounts of additional time currently being played in Qatar, referee David Murnane allowed almost three minutes over the initial five minutes and Ruadhan O’Connor was able to poke over an equaliser deep into it.
Starting extra-time without Kevin Fahey and Ciaran Cannon, who had been black carded in the embers of the second-half, Clonmel would have been reasonably happy to be down just a point upon their return to the fray. However, they were only on the field a minute or so when Emmet Rigter landed a decisive blow, finding the net after fine work by Aaron Neville and Iain Corbett in the build-up.
“Emmet is an extremely good player,” enthused manager Jimmy Lee. “Has been all year. During the league, when the lads were playing other sports, Iain and Cian were playing county, those lads came to the fore. They’ve stayed and they’ve driven lads on.”
It meant Newcastle West turned around 1-14 to 1-10 ahead and they moved further away from Commercials in the opening minutes of the new period, Eoin Hurley adding one from play and another from a free, which earned Tadgh Condon a black card.
With the exception of a Michael Quilligan block on Aldo Matassa that otherwise would have set up a nervy finish, The Magpies were able to savour the remainder, their county stars Corbett and Cian Sheehan having again excelled.
In the second half of normal time, Jack Kennedy had been ruling the air for Commercials but they weren’t doing enough with their assault on Newcastle West’s kick-out. "Our target was to get at their kick-out and we did so successfully but unfortunately it didn’t turn into scores, which was our aim out of it,” rued Commercials’ manager Tommy Morrissey.
“We were winning ball out around the middle but we were too lateral with it and too slow in getting the play into our inside forwards. But again to be fair to them, they had an area clogged up and it’s hard when you’re looking up and seeing black jerseys. It’s hard to pick out a man. While we ultimately got on top of the kick-outs, they had set up for that.”
Indeed, Commercials’ lead was reduced to one with 10 minutes left as Brian O’Sullivan continued Newcastle West’s rich vein of long-range kicking. A dubious 53rd-minute free in favour of the excellent Sheehan when he had lost control of the ball allowed Hurley to square the game for the second time in the second half.
Rigter pushed them into the lead for the first time since the end of the first half but Michael Quinlivan cancelled it out in the penultimate minute of normal time, slaloming his way forward from the sideline to fist the ball over the bar. Three minutes later and Fahey appeared to be the match-winner but O’Connor later directed over the equaliser and another 20-plus minutes was on the menu.
Newcastle West had opened the scoring in normal time too, Corbett combining with his fellow All-Star nominee Sheehan to split the posts in the fourth minute. However, Commercials dominated the play for the next 10 minutes. The problem for them was they only troubled the scoreboard twice.
Scores from Jason Lonergan and Seán O’Connor in quick succession gave them an advantage but they looked edgy otherwise. Quinlivan was twice whistled for picking the ball from the ground and while the industry of Ross Peters was admirable the end product wasn't as he hit two wides.
Colman Kennedy also had a point-blank chance denied by Quilligan in the 11th minute, although the shot was straight at the Newcastle West goalkeeper.
That let-off and Commercials’ general sluggishness gave the visitors some impetus and they hit the next four points in a six-minute spell. Frees from Hurley and Diarmaid Kelly were followed by another Corbett-Sheehan combination but this time Sheehan put the finishing touch to the move and Kelly added his second.
A Jack Kennedy free for a foul on a roving Seamus Kennedy on the half-hour mark bridged a 24-minute gap to Commercials’ last score. As Newcastle West again struggled with their restart, a long ball was put into O’Connor and he turned neatly to send a point over his shoulder.
With the difference now reduced to a point, the full-forward then found the net in the second minute of additional time as Commercials again feasted on their opponents’ restart. Pádraic Looram and Colman Kennedy linked up in the advance, the latter finding O’Connor whose strike was clinical.
Kelly took some of the sting out of that Commercials’ burst with his third point to bring Newcastle West within a point at the break, 0-6 to 1-4. As they had been against Upperchurch-Drombane and Nemo Rangers, Clonmel were devastating in flashes but something more sustainable was required here.
S. O’Connor (1-2); J. Lonergan (0-3, 1 free); J. Kennedy (2 frees), M. Quinlivan (0-2 each); C. Deely, K. Fahey (0-1 each).
E. Hurley (0-6, 3 frees, 1 mark); E. Rigter (1-1); D. Kelly (1 free), C. Sheehan (0-3 each); I. Corbett, B. O’Sullivan, R. O’Connor (0-1 each).
M. O’Reilly; J. Morris, S. Kennedy, J. Peters (c); T. Condon, K. Fahey, P. Looram; M. Quinlivan, Conall Kennedy; C. Deely, R. Peters, J. Kennedy; J. Lonergan, Colman Kennedy, S. O’Connor.
P. McGarry for Conall Kennedy (43); A. Matassa for R. Peters (52); C. Cannon for J. Peters, C. Smith for C. Deely (both 60); C. McGeever for C. Smith (e-t h-t).
K. Fahey (60+4); C. Cannon (60+5); T. Condon (74).
M. Quilligan; B. O’Sullivan, D. O’Doherty, M. O’Keeffe; I. Corbett (c), J. Kelly, R. O’Connor; E. Rigter, S. Murphy; D. Kelly, C. Sheehan, T. O’Donovan; S. Stack, M. McMahon, E. Hurley.
S. Hurley for T. O’Donovan (inj 38); A. Neville for J. Kelly (48); T. Quilligan for S. Stack (56); B. Hurley for S. Murphy (60+3); S. Brosnan for E. Rigter (80); B. Foley for C. Sheehan (80+1).
D. Murnane (Cork)
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