Clogher Valley edge Skins in pulsating Towns' Cup semi-final

Clogher Valley will face Ballyclare in the final of the Towns Cup on Easter Monday after they defeated local rivals Enniskillen 27-21 in a pulsating semi-final encounter at Mullaghmeen.

Enniskillen twice held the advantage during a frantic first half but Clogher Valley pegged them back on each occasion, and then moved ahead for the first time seven minutes into the second period.

The home team came back again to edge in front, before a late Clogher Valley rally sealed their place in the Towns' Cup Final for an eighth time.

In front of a large crowd Enniskillen started brightly and took the lead in the fourth minutes when James Balfour drove over the try line and Eddie Keys converted.

Clogher Valley’s Ewan Haire was shown a yellow card, but Enniskillen could not take advantage of the extra man and Clogher Valley pulled level when Taine Haire collected a kick over the defence and touched down to make it 7-5.

David Maxwell levelled the scores with the conversion, but three minutes later Sam Balfour went over in the corner to restore Enniskillen’s lead. Keys kicked the conversion from the touch line to increase the lead to seven points, but on the stroke of half time Ewan Haire’s try and Maxwell’s conversion tied the match again at 14-14.

Maxwell’s penalty seven minutes into the second half gave Clogher Valley the lead for the first time, but just two minutes later some desperate defending from the visitors resulted in Richard Primrose seeing yellow, and this time Enniskillen were able to make the most of the numerical advantage as Matthew Graham scored under the posts to give his side a four point advantage 21-17.

Clogher Valley responded yet again however, and Taine Haire’s try gave them a one point advantage before the same player sealed the victory with his third try of the night in the closing minutes.

Clogher Valley now face a Ballyclare side who are playing in their fourth consecutive Towns Cup final. A win for the Fivemiletown side would see them clinch the trophy for the fifth time in their history.