Clogher hoping lightning does strike twice

THEY say lightning doesn’t strike twice but Clogher Valley head coach, Stephen Bothwell, will be hoping it does today as, for the second year in a row, his side prepare to tackle Newcastle West in the semi-finals of the All-Ireland Junior Cup.

Twelve months previously, Clogher earned an emphatic 47-7 home win over the County Limerick men at The Cran and while they would gladly take the same outcome a year later, Bothwell knows that is unlikely especially with the Tyrone men taking to the road on this occasion.

That being said, the All-Ireland Junior Cup holders, who have won every game they have played this term, are determined to keep their superb run of form going in order to retain the coveted trophy they worked so hard to win in the final against Ballyclare at Kingspan Stadium in January.

“We put 47 points on them last year but I’m not getting carried away with that,” he said.

“We got a lot of tries towards the end and the scoreline looked better than what the match was like, it certainly doesn’t reflect what it was like early on.

“And with them down there, at home, they will be well wound up and that scoreline last year will be more of a carrot for them. It will probably be drilled into them all week to get back at us, so we know it’s not going to be easy.

“But the more you win, the more you want to win and the boys won’t want to be on a losing side. And you want the boys to take that pressure on them, to fulfill their ambition with what they want to achieve.”

On Saturday past, Clogher played their last Ulster Championship Division One fixture ahead of their trip to Newcastle West and it couldn’t have gone much better.

Not only did they earn an 11th straight try scoring bonus point win of the campaign with what the Valley faithful will be hoping is an ominous 47-7 victory over City of Derry, but they did so without picking up any further injuries and with time to spare.

“Someone was giving off about the game being blown up five minutes early but I was delighted!,” Bothwell laughed.

“We had the game won and boys were getting cold and that’s when you get injuries, so thankfully we got off the field with no injuries.

“It gives us, apart from Reece Smyton at first centre, a full deck to pick from, so we can’t be unhappy about that.”

As well as having a full contingent for their journey south, the Valley men are really starting to find their form at the right time. While results have been superb this season, Bothwell feels there has still been plenty for his players to improve upon, but on Saturday he was pleased with what he saw, particularly in defence, which could be key this coming weekend.

“We played really well and our defence was really good because we came under a lot of pressure. We worked turnover ball very well,” he observed.

“We did a lot of ‘D’ work during the week so I was pleased to see our defence was much better. We’re heading in the right direction.

“Defence is huge because every team will have a purple-patch and they will have a real crack at us down there early doors, so our tackle height and not giving away penalties will be crucial for us.”