BUCCANEERS 7 CLOGHER VALLEY 45
CLOGHER VALLEY moved up to second place in the Energia All-Ireland League Division 2B following their comprehensive 45-7 victory over Buccaneers at Dubarry Park on Saturday. A depleted home squad could not match the tempo and intensity of the Tyrone outfit who had a bonus point secured by half-time as they inflicted a second heavy defeat on the midlanders.
Skipper Corey Reid, Leo MacFarlane, Oisin Dolan and Luke Balsiger were among those ruled out for this tie with Patrick Egan on the bench. Dan Donovan returned after suspension to captain the team with Dylan Duffy, Thomas Cotton and Sean Glennon coming in. The visitors welcomed back their captain Eugene McKenna along with Josh Kyle on a cold afternoon.
Buccs made a couple of early promising attacks with a Ross Murphy-Sweeney break faltering following a later knock-on and then another move broke down when Buccs held on to possession too long. Clogher Valley soon demonstrated how to score with Michael Bothwell and Jake Woods combining to send Matthew Bothwell in for a 14th minute try at The Bounty corner. Three minutes later they doubled their tally when Taine Haire touched down at the opposite flank for a 10-0 lead.
Buccs were decidedly unlucky not to make an instant response when Cotton blocked down but a wicked bounce denied the centre a scoring run in. Kyle Barrett debuted in place of the injured Duffy after 22 minutes while a super 50/22 by Gearoid McDonald was not capitalised on.
On the halfhour mark, a break from a scrum near halfway was finished by Matthew Bothwell and the Ulster side secured their bonus point try when Aaron Dunwoody raced through a yawning gap just before the interval. David Maxwell got his radar working to convert these two tries to give the northerners a 24-0 half-time lead.
They stretched their advantage 6 minutes into the second period following a 5 metre tap and go with Jamie Allen applying the finishing touch. Buccs replied within 3 minutes, Glennon dotting down on the left for a pushover try and McDonald added an excellent touchline conversion to leave the scoreboard reading 31-7.
With the floodlights now on this try offered a glimmer of light but two Buccs players got in a tangle from the restart to knock on and gift possession back to Clogher Valley. Their dominant scrum paved the way for Dunwoody to get his second try. Jamie Allen was sin-binned shortly afterwards for illegally slowing down a Buccs penalty but the homesters could not take advantage.
In the closing stages a quickly tapped penalty sent Matthew Bothwell darting in to notch a hattrick of tries. Maxwell converted all three second half tries to complete the 45-7 scoreline. Clogher Valley are an exciting team to watch and are swift and relentless in capitalising on loose passes or errors. Buccs lacked a necessary ruthlessness and need to recharge ahead of the trip to Magherafelt on Saturday week.
BUCCANEERS:- D.Duffy; T.Shine, T.Cotton, O.Burgess, R.Murphy-Sweeney; G.McDonald, A.Bouwens; A.Cooper, S.Glennon, C.Byrne; S.Meecham, R.O’Meara; C.Sheehan, J.Crampton and D.Donovan (captain). Replacements:- K.Barrett (for Duffy, inj. 22 mins), S.Tan (for Cotton, h/t), P.Egan (for Crampton, 44 mins), T.Cotton (for Burgess, inj. 61 mins), J.Kelly (for Cooper, 68 mins), D.Bolger (for Byrne, 68 mins) and J.Crampton (for Sheehan, 73 mins).
CLOGHER VALLEY:- T.Haire; P.Wilson, Michael Bothwell, J.Kyle, J.Woods; D.Maxwell, Matthew Bothwell; J.Allen, L.Allen, N.Henderson; E.McKenna (captain), R.Stewart; D.Stinson, A.Dunwoody and C.Smyton. Replacements:- T.Barnett (for Wilson, inj. 22 mins), M.Treanor (for J.Allen, 28 mins), K.Cobane (for L.Allen, 28 mins), J.Allen (for McKenna, h/t), R.Wilkinson (for Kyle, 47 mins) and A.Crawford (for Henderson 54 mins).
Referee:- Mitchell Enderby (IRFU).
