Clogher Valley 17 Cooke 7
A few brave spectators braved the horrendous conditions, including a constant downpour, to watch this game. They were rewarded with a thrilling game with both sides mastering the handling of a ball effectively like a bar of soap!
Valley adapted a little better to the conditions with their forward cohesion and driving mauls. With the Valley lineout and scrum always on top Cooke did well to hang on throughout the game.
Valley started with intent and their off-loading game immediately put Cooke under pressure. Then, after a 11 minutes, a loose Valley pass allowed Cooke full back Pollock to pick up very close to the touch line in his own 5 metre area. With the Valley backs up in attack Pollock sprinted down the touchline and under the posts for a Cooke converted try and a 7-0 lead against all odds.
Valley saw this as a temporary setback and immediately returned to the attack. Cooke were proving dogged in defence though and it was not until the 22 minute that Valley levelled the score. Prop Primrose made a good break in midfield and when the ball was recycled scrum half Ellis chipped behind the Cooke defence and Donaldson won the race for the line for a try converted by Armstrong, (impressive throughout in the conditions), for 7-7.
Four minutes late Ellis’s quick thinking in taking a quick penalty and then another delightful chip behind the defence saw Sharkey score this time and Valley led 12-7 at half time.
It was not long until Valley scored again after a series of rolling mauls took the ball from their own 22 to the Cooke 22. After more phases second row Treanor was driven over and Valley led 17-7.
Valley were now completely in the ascendency and it seemed just a matter of time until Valley added a fourth try and bonus point with 25 minutes left. However it was not to be. A series of penalties, a yellow card, and a decision of double movement in the act of scoring kept relieving the pressure on Cooke. Then Valley were disrupted further when the Cooke number 10 was injured in a collison necessitating the game to be stopped for a period. The game restarted on the 2nd XV pitch but with only 12 minutes left Valley, now playing against a stronger wind, struggled to build momentum against the conditions and the number of penalties they were conceding. They also conceded another yellow card. With minutes left they thought they had scored the critical try but again double movement was adjudged and the game petered out with Valley encamped on the Cooke line.
In the end a disappointing result for Valley, who despite missing eight regulars, played very well in the conditions. The young replacements of second row Mark McKenna, (in his first game), centre Agnew and scrum halves Ellis and Trotter did very well but Valley man of the match was flanker Triener who was everywhere throughout the game and turned Cooke over a number of times.
With league leaders Instonians gaining a bonus point it would appear that with s six point gap Valley will not be able to catch them with only 3 games left. However Valley need to pick themselves up and reorganise quickly with another must win game on Tuesday night at the Cran against third place Bangor.. The fourth game in nine days amid a mounting injury list. Kick-off is 8pm
