When Clogher Valley lost out to Enniscorthy in the All Ireland Cup final in February it was a painful experience for the entire club, but club captain Stephen Baxter felt that pain more than most as he missed out on a starting place on one of the club’s biggest days. Restored to the starting fifteen for Monday’s Towns’ Cup final he grabbed the opportunity for redemption with both hands, scoring the try that put his side in front before going on to lift the trophy and complete a league and cup double.

“That definitely made up for missing out in the All-Ireland final,” he admitted. “It was a big incentive for me. I was injured at that time and the boys were playing so well it was hard to get back in, and that has been the way it has been this season. We are all local lads and we all get on well. We are family and we can accept that. Someone else had to miss out today because of me starting. I was happy with how I played and getting the try was an added bonus. I knew that we were on top at that stage and it’s vital to score when you are on top like that. It kick started us and really put us into gear.” Clogher Valley found themselves trailing by four points early in the second half before Stephen’s try changed the dynamic of the game, and he acknowledged that they made a poor start to the match. “I think we were very slow out of the blocks,” he admitted. “It was our 35th game of the year and I think it showed on us. We were very tired and Donaghadee threw everything at us. We were below par in the first half, and then we lost David Sharkey and we lost Eugene McKenna who were two big lineout men so we had to rejig things. In the second half we knew we had to put in a better performance, and we came out and met them in the contact areas and won those battles. We got a try at the back of the lineout which more or less changed the game. After that we were on top, and then we scored a try late on and that was a bridge too far for them.” After tasting defeat in their all-Ireland contests, Stephen admitted that this cup final victory tasted even sweeter. “We are over the moon,” he said. “You can never complain with a Towns Cup and league double, but although we won the league we lost in the All-Ireland play offs and last week in Cork we went down with a much depleted side, so it was good to have everybody back for this final. It was good to bounce back in style.” And those All Ireland contests remain a target for next season. “We will give our all and injuries permitting and if we get the rub of the green we can maybe go a step further and maybe add the All-Ireland. You never know.”