With the clock ticking down and Clogher Valley trailing 11-3, Head Coach Stephen Bothwell would have been forgiven for thinking that it was not going to be their day.

Even after a Neil Henderson converted try, they were still a point adrift with minutes left to play but they were not to be denied and Captain Paul Armstrong stepped up to drill over a penalty from all of 40 metres to seal an historic win for the team from the Cran.

“It was unbelievable. The last-minute drama and the whole excitement added to it all. It was just great,” said Bothwell.

“We struggled to get a few passes stuck together, they made things tight, although you are hoping you will get a wee purple patch. But when you are five minutes from the end, you are thinking, ‘Is this ever going to come?’

“I was aware though that they [Ballyclare] were starting to get very, very tired. At every break of play, there was four or five of them down cramping, and I think our fitness told in the end.”

And the coach had nothing but praise for his players as they kept going right to the death.

“The players were fantastic; to keep that intensity going, to keep that belief that they would win it.

“The young boys bring it to a different level; they obviously have youth on their side, and they have a great engine on them to keep going and going until the whistle goes, and it paid off for us,” he added.

There was also a special word for Armstrong who was the coolest head at Kingspan Stadium as he stepped up to seal the victory.

“Fair play to him, it was tough and there was some pressure on him but he slotted it over. He did really well,” said the Valley coach.

However, Clogher have to quickly get back down to earth as they still have a lot to play for this season with a big league game coming up on Saturday against Grosvenor as they look to keep the pressure on Instonians.

And as newly-crowned All Ireland champions, Bothwell is only too aware that they are going to be the side that everybody targets.

“We are back at it this Saturday against Grosvenor in the league and when you are at the top everyone will want a swipe at you, and that is what we will have to deal with now.

“Grosvenor are a better side than their league position suggests.When they are on tune, they are a good team.

“Thankfully we had no injuries; a lot of soreness, but no major injuries, so we will refocus for Grosvenor and then it is into the Towns’ Cup the following week,” he added.