Henderson and Armstrong complete stunning Clogher Valley comeback

FOR almost 80 minutes it looked as though history was about to repeat itself.

The memories of a 10-9 defeat to Enniscorthy in the Energia All-Ireland Junior Cup final of 2014 remained fresh in the minds of several of the Clogher players on the pitch.

And for nearly an hour and a half at Kingspan Stadium, they had huffed and puffed but were kept at bay by a Ballyclare side, who looked as though they were going to claim a first Energia All-Ireland Junior Cup title.

The County Antrim side had engineered an 11-3 lead going into the final minute or two of normal time, but there is one thing about this Clogher Valley side, they never say die and even when time was against them they retained hope.

That confidence in their own ability was rewarded in the final 10 minutes of a match that was extended deep into injury time following two stoppages. During those last 600 seconds, Clogher scored 10 points to turn the game and the outcome on its head and to seal the title for the first time in the club’s history, thanks to a try by Neil Henderson, which fittingly was converted by skipper Paul Armstrong, who was a 19-year-old rookie in their previous final appearance eight years ago. And he completed his and the team’s redemption just a few minutes later when knocking over a trophy-winning penalty from the 10 metre line to complete a remarkable comeback by the Fivemiletown-based outfit who were cheered to victory by a huge band of loyal supporters.

After a cagey start that Clogher probably shaded, it was Ballyclare who took the lead through a Mark Jackson penalty, but Valley skipper Paul Armstrong responded in style to level the scores a minute later.

Parity wasn’t to remain long as Ross Johnston surged forward to provide the platform for Ballyclare to earn another penalty, this time plumb centre in front of the posts and again Jackson made no mistake to make it 6-3.

The County Antrim side then increased their lead when a cross field kick was fielded by Scott Martin who outjumped Valley fullback Ewan Haire before touching down for an unconverted effort five minutes from the interval.

Clogher responded well from that set-back and engineered posession in opposition territory before the break when they looked likely to score with Callum Smyton surging for the line only for a knock-on to end those hopes and the half.

Ballyclare gained the upperhand in the early stages of the second period and was it not for solid Valley defence, they would have added to their advantage. As it was, they were held up over the line before ‘Clare had replacement prop Harry Mawhinney yellow carded for infringing at a ruck with 13 minutes remaining. much to the relief of the huge travelling Clogher support.

Galvanised by that rearguard effort and their numerical advantage, the Valley men worked their way downfield with David Stinson gaining good field position before the game was stopped for a spell due to a serious shoulder injury to Ballyclare’s James Creighton, who was replaced by Angus Robson.

When the game resumed, Clogher continued to press and probe the ‘Clare defence, but it remained unbreached as the minutes ticked by but the closest they could get was a lineout eight metres out which was repelled.

With only three minutes to go the Valley again mounted increasing pressure on the ‘Clare line but again they were kept at bay until Neil Henderson managed to seal a vital try after a series of pick and goes, converted by Armstrong to make it 11-10 going into the final minutes of a nip and tuck final.

And then, in injury time, Clogher earned a penalty on the 10 metre line when Ballyclare went off their feet attempting to defend the ball after their fullback had been tackled in possession.

With the trophy in their sights, but with a tricky kick to win it, the responsibility fell on the shoulders of the captain, Armstrong, who as cool as you like, knocked over what probably wasn’t his cleanest kick ever, but definitely his most rewarding to win the coveted trophy for the men from the Cran and erase those agonising memories from 2014.