Instonians 1st XV 35 Clogher Valley 1st XV 26

There was disappointment for Clogher Valley on Saturday as their bid to land the Championship Division One crown came up just short in their title shoot out against Instonians at Shaws Bridge.

It has been a two horse race for a long time in the division with Clogher able to keep the pressure on Instonians and bring the game to a last day decider but on the day it was the home side who edged matters to seal the league title.

In what turned out to be a very even match with the two teams only two points apart going into the last minute, Instonians kept their nerve and secured the game with a penalty try in the last minute

Clogher head coach, Stephen Bothwell, felt that errors proved costly for his side.

"It was disappointing to get so close only not to get over the line. It was a real ambition for the squad to win the league and we had put ourselves in such a good position by keeping up the pressure on Instonians to set up the last day decider.

"I felt that we played very well on the day only to make some silly errors and give the game to them," he said.

He did feel though that there was a lot of positives to take out of the campaign.

"We can take a lot out of the league, it is a young side and we know that we are there or thereabouts and that will help us going into next season," he added.

Instonians were the first to score with two penalties in the first eight minutes to give them a 6-0 lead.

And five minutes later they added another seven points from a converted try. 13-0 down and the first quarter gone, the Valley started to show the style of play, the large crowd of following supporters expect to see.

Grubber kicks were keeping the Instonians backs pinned down in their own half. Paul Armstrong kicked a very low trajectory penalty which bounced in the Instonians 22, the full back gathered but was pounced upon by Callum Smyton.

The referee decided the full back had held on illegally and awarded a penalty to the Valley, which Armstrong duly slotted between the uprights.

Ten minutes later the Valley secured their lineout, set up a maul and drove towards the Instonians try line.

The visitors then broke from the maul, taking the ball through a series of ‘pick and go’ bringing play to the centre of the pitch.

As the Valley drew in the defenders, they changed their point of attack and spread the ball wide for Paul Armstrong to dive over to score Valley’s opening try.

Instonians hit back with a converted try of their own from their first visit to the Valley 22 in almost 15 minutes.

As the half was coming to an end, the home side led 20-8. Armstrong added a penalty to his tally and to the Valley score line for the half time score to be 20-11 in favour to the home side.

In keeping with the Clogher style, they upped the pace in the second half, but Instonians were equal to the speed and intensity.

A break from Ewan Haire from the halfway line took play to the Instonians 22; he popped the ball to Stuart Douglas coming at full pace, only to be bundled into touch from a great Instonians cover tackle.

As the third quarter was coming to an end, Instonians secured their own lineout on the halfway line, spreading the ball quickly the scrum half attacked down the left side, a missed tackle and the home sides winger was in for a score. 25-11 up with 20 minutes to go, it was clear the Valley had an uphill struggle.

A Valley scrum five metres out, gave Callum Smyton the attacking platform to pick the ball up and drove between the two Instonians centres to score. Armstrong converted to bring the score to 25-18.

A Valley penalty, converted by Armstrong brought the score to within four points at 25-21.

Instonians started to play the territory game, kicking at every opportunity to keep the Valley pinned in their own half. Their tactics were rewarded with a penalty of their own in front of the Valley posts to widen the gap to seven points.

With five minutes left on the clock, another Valley scrum five metres out gave Callum Smyton the chance to pick up and attack.

The Instonian defence were ready for him, forcing him out wide, but it was to no avail. He crossed the line out on the touchline to score again and bring the Valley to within two points. Armstrong stepped up for the conversion, the kick was accurate, until the last moment when the wind caught the ball and blew it against the post. It was now a two-point game, 28-26 to the home side.

As the minutes then the seconds ticked by, towards the final whistle, Instonians kicked over the top, Ewan Haire collected in his own dead ball zone and with no choice attempted to run it out, the Instonians tackle was good, stopping him five metres out from his own line. The Valley support was slow to arrive, and the referee awarded a penalty to the home side for illegally holding onto the ball.

Rather than kicking the penalty for three points, they opted for a scrum. As they drove the scrum collapsed, the referee deciding that this was deliberate, awarded Instonians a penalty try to give a final score of 35-26.

Instonians took the title with 86 points. Normally a team who scores 80 league points would be sitting top, but this was not to be, this season.

Coach Bothwell is developing this young side, who are playing expansive and exciting rugby and have entertained the growing crowd of supporters this season. The season though is not over yet for Clogher with a Junior Cup semi-final awaiting at the end of April and Bothwell would love to finish off the season by adding more silverware.

"It would be great to round it off with another trophy and that is the aim," he stated.