Clogher Valley within touching distance of title

IN only their first season in the Energia All-Ireland League, Clogher Valley have moved to within touching distance of the 2C title after earning a bonus point victory over Clonmel on Saturday.

With Stephen Bothwell’s men winning 29-15 at Clonmel, thanks to tries from Eugene McKenna, Callum Smyton, Matthew Bothwell and Taine Haire, and their nearest challengers, Galwegians falling to a 32-30 defeat at Bruff, it leaves Clogher 14 points above the Galway men, who have a game in hand, in the table, while Enniscorthy, who have played the same number of games as the Valley are 13 points adrift.

That leaves Clogher well placed to complete the job, win the title and earn promotion at the first attempt and with a favourable run-in that features home games against Midleton and Ballina, either side of a trip to Tullamore, the Clogher head coach is confident of seeing it through.

But first he’s looking forward to a two week break to get his squad ready for the closing stages of the season.

“Part of us would like to keep on playing but it’ll be nice to get some injuries cleared up, get refreshed and finish with some good performances,” he acknowledged.

“We want to finish the season performing well because our remaining fixtures mean it’s doable. We’re in a nice spot.

“It’d be lovely to get it wrapped up as early as we can.

“We know we can beat everyone, so it would be a lack of performance on our part if we fall short. But it’s in our hands, so we have to keep the performances going.

“So, we need to do a bit of work in the next two weeks to try and get us up to speed for the run-up. It will be about getting us nice and sharp.

Elsewhere, Clogher seconds capped a good day at the office for the Cran-based club. They found themselves 24-7 down to their Rainey counterparts before fighting back to seal a 31-29 victory.