Last Saturday’s Junior Cup clash at Bohatten Lane was another fine occasion for rugby enthusiasts in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, as Enniskillen emerged victorious by 21 points to 19, despite a last minute Ally Breen try which brought the game to a tight conclusion.

    As on many occasions this season, it could all have been so different for the Valley, who yet again conspired to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Leading by 12 points to six midway through the second half, they had a number of chances to seal victory with a series of kickable penalties, but they failed to add the points, and the sharper teeth of the Skins attack cut through the Valley defence for two excellent long range tries within ten minutes.

    It was a fractious, disjointed game at times, with what must surely have been a record number of penalties and stoppages imposed by the referee, Shane Toolan, but there was still plenty to entertain the crowd, not least those two splendid breakaway Skins tries in the second half.

    On a beautiful Spring day the match kicked off with a fair crowd eagerly awaiting the deciding battle in the local derby series, the two clubs locked on one victory each from the league encounters. Clogher Valley needed a victory in this second round match to keep their season alive, while for Enniskillen the cup is providing a welcome respite from the pressures of the relegation battle.

    The home side were the first to score, as outhalf Greer landed a penalty after an Enniskillen infringement at a ruck, but the visitor’s response was swift and clinical. Working their way down the pitch the ball was swung left out to the backs, and a long pass from Gareth Armstrong found Graham Little in space. Flanker Michael Pickles came into the line with real pace off Little’s left shoulder, breaching the defence just inside the Valley 22, and just five yards from the line he selflessly passed the ball to Jimmy Moore who made no mistake with the finish.

    Outhalf Balfour missed the conversion from the corner but made no mistake with a penalty minutes later to extend the Skins lead to eight points to three. Both sides struggled to generate any rhythm or pattern in a game punctuated by mistakes and interference at the breakdown, which was voraciously policed by referee Toolan. Clogher Valley flanker Ivan Dunn finally overstepped the Toolan patience threshold and was sinbinned for persistent infringements at the ruck, but Enniskillen could not make their extra man count, and the sides changed ends with the scoreline 8-6 to Skins, after another Greer penalty.

    Clogher Valley were playing with a light, young pack due to injuries to a number of key players, but the more experienced Enniskillen eight failed to really press home the dominance which seemed evident during the opening stages. Valley number eight Ryan Wilson was by some distance the most effective forward on the pitch, crashing through several would-be tacklers every time he got his hands on the ball. It was a memorable day for the Wilson clan, who emulated Ireland’s Wallace brothers with the honour of having three brothers playing in the team.

    The barnstorming Wilson and the strong running Falconer in the centre lead the Valley charge in the second half, and they forced their way back into the lead with another penalty and a sweet drop goal from Greer.

    This period of Valley dominance should really have yielded more points however, as Enniskillen temporarily lost all shape and strength of purpose, with weak tackling and anaemic rucking allowing the home side the chance to press them into conceding penalties. Fortunately for Skins, too many of these penalty chances were missed, and as Enniskillen began to emerge from the scrappy battle up front and throw the ball around, things were looking ominous for Clogher.

    After a number of breaks out of defence Skins finally got just reward for their adventure when right wing Mark Chambers took a quick throw in to Brian Wallace inside his own twenty-two. The big forward threw a long pass across the field to Little who stepped inside two Valley defenders before switching the ball back outside to Wallace on the loop. Space had opened up now for the Skins backs and Wallace let the ball out to Armstrong. Several interlinking passes later between the outside backs and supporting back row and flanker Forbes had scored one of Enniskillen’s tries of the season.

    Balfour missed the conversion but made amends with his second penalty minutes later, firing Enniskillen further into the lead 16 points to 12. Finally an element of control was apparent from Skins, and with the gradual easing of tension, better rugby began to flow.

    From a scrum just inside their own half the ball was scuffed straight to Little on the blind side who sucked in two defenders and slipped the ball to scrum half Evans on the loop. Evans, who had a lively match at the helm for Enniskillen, danced his way up the blind side to the last Valley defender, and with full-back Breen committed, he fed Chambers on the right, who crossed the line for another fine try in only his second game back for the First XV to effectively end the contest.

    There was time however, for Ally Breen to embarrass his former Portora team mate Graham Little with a textbook handoff and lightning outside break just inside the Skins twenty-two, but this score from Valley’s top finisher, and the resulting conversion from Greer, was to be the last play of the match.