Larne Fall Short of Claiming Cup Victory

The challenge for the home side would be up there with the toughest they have faced in the past few seasons, competing against a team at the top of the Qualifying 1 League. Knowing that the visitors are renowned for a large pack and a solid set piece it would be a good marker to see how the Larne pack have progressed from the start of the season. From the first scrum Larne were to show their improvements by holding the visitors steady, they presented a good platform on their own ball and didn’t make it easy for the Clogher men on their own put in.

The Glynn men put a lot of early pressure on the Clogher line and kept them pinned deep in their own half. A solid wall of defence prevented Larne from crossing on a few occasions but as the pressure took its’ toll a penalty was soon awarded for an enfringement at the breakdown to allow Andrews to slot over his first penalty of the day.

Clogher started to find their feet and the Larne onslaught started to take a backward step. A silly penalty allowed Clogher to kick the ball deep into the Larne 22 and set up some neat phase play which soon allowed their bulky number 8 to crash over the line to put the visitors in front. The hosts started to feel the pressure for the first time and as the visitors marched upfield again from the kick off, they worked the ball well round the corner stretching the Larne defence. As one of the Clogher forwards stretched for the line he had appeared to be help up short but the referee awarded the try from a dubious position.

The half time score sat Larne 3 – 10 Clogher Valley.

With only a score in it, the match was still there for the taking for both teams. As the teams exchanged penalties in the opening ten minutes of the second half it was unclear who was going to make the breakthrough to score the next try. The pace of the match slowed down which appeared to suit the visitors more than the hosts, as the Clogher back row went on a rampaging run up the middle of the pitch, the Larne defence could do little to stop them. Two delicate off loads saw their captain race away from the covering tacklers to dot down under the posts and give the visitors a 6 – 20 advantage.

The tempo of the match started to pick up again and Larne started to dominate territory and possession yet again. As Clogher cleared their lines the ball landed into the hands of Burns who was to set off on one of his trademark runs. As he brushed off a number of attempted tackles the gap to the try line opened up for Burns to stretch his legs and score under the posts.

With only 7 points the difference and five minutes left on the clock the Larne men had the tails up hoping to bring the scores back level and again started to make their way into the Clogher half. Unfortunately a slight knock on by the home side allowed the referee to blow up for full time 13-20 and send Clogher Valley through to the quarter finals.

A gutsy performance from the Larne men bodes them well going into their next fixture against Lisburn in the league this Saturday. With securing safety in the league the most important goal of this season it is vital that the Larne men pick up as many points as possible before Christmas and a win this week will be a big boost in achieving that goal.