Clogher, to their credit, ended the game in rousing fashion scoring a try and pressing Dungannon back, but in the end Dungannon had run out deserving winners although the 24 –5 scoreline was a little harsh on the men from the Valley.

    Clogher started the match the better and took the game to their more illustrious opponents and almost took the lead as early as the second minute when out-half Stephen Bothwell’s penalty narrowly missed the target. Undeterred, Clogher kept the pressure on Dungannon for the next ten minutes but were unable to convert this territorial advantage onto the scoreboard. Dungannon did manage to break out of their own half and they did secure a kickable penalty but Dungannon out-half Mark Bradley failed to break the deadlock as his effort went wide of the posts.

    Any thoughts Dungannon had of building on this pressure quickly evaporated when a great tackle by Ivan Dunn turned possession over in favour of ClogherValley and set in motion another period of Clogher dominance.

    Clogher number 8, Ryan Wilson was a constant thorn in the flesh of the Dungannon side and he instigated many a Clogher sortie on the Dungannon line.

    Clogher won a scrum on the Dungannon ‘22’ against the head and Wilson was held up just short of the line following a super pick and burst forward. Clogher Valley then collected the ball from a lineout and the pack rumbled forward towards the line but again they were held up short by some excellent Dungannon defence.

    Clogher were made to pay dearly for these two near misses when Dungannon broke out of defence and a well kicked penalty put Clogher back in their own half. From the lineout, the Dungannon number 8, Stafford, broke clear and charged over in the corner for a try that was converted by Bradley to put Dungannon 7-0 ahead, albeit against the run of play.

    Some good tactical and positional kicking put Clogher back in Dungannon territory but they could not open their account before the half time whistle.

    If Clogher had dominated the first half, then it was Dungannon who were holding sway in the second. They started the second half much better than the Valley men, forcing them to concede a succession of penalties that left the referee with no option but to award a penalty try against Clogher Valley which Bradley converted to leave the scoreline at 14-0.

    With Dungannon in the ascendancy, Clogher were forced to attack from deep and to throw caution to the wind. In one such sweeping move, Valley moved the ball from right to left and back again but at the vital stage, McGuckin intercepted the ball and ran unchallenged for a third Dungannon try and a killer blow from which Clogher ultimately would not recover.

    21-0 down, Clogher refused to lie down and introduced Henderson and Kyle to the action and although many of their attacks started from deep, Dunn, Kyle, Bates and Breen did make inroads into the Dungannon defence. But again, Clogher could not make a breakthough.

    At the other, Dungannon were still posing a threat and only a super last ditch tackle from Breen on Stafford prevented a certain try although Bradley converted a penalty minutes later to put Dungannon 24-0 ahead.

    With ten minutes remaining, Valley threw caution to the wind in the hope of finding a richly deserved try. This they got when Ryan Wilson’s 30 yard break brought play up to half way and several good rucks later, Ali Breen made the decisive break to score a try that Clogher’s efforts deserved.

    The try went unconverted but as Clogher went in search of another score Breen fed Robinson who was stopped just short of the line with the final whistle sounding seconds later.