Emphatic win sees Ballyclare retain Towns Cup

The Cloughan side ran out 71-14 winners over Clogher Valley, who had rotated a number of players ahead of their AIL Promotion Play-off on Saturday, April 15.

Ballyclare, who won the trophy last year after defeating Dromore 32-27 at the Kingspan, led 40 points to 7 at the break thanks to tries from Josh Cowan (2), Luke McIlwrath, Alex Darrah, Aaron Playfair and James Creighton. Mark Jackson getting the conversions for Mike Orchin-McKeever’s men.

The south Antrim outfit did not let up in the second period with further tries from Owen Kirk (2), Matty Coulter, Cowan and Peter Gillespie.

Coach Mike Orchin-McKeever took to social media after the showpiece to praise his young players: “A good day out. I am delighted for Alex, Luke and Peter. All scoring at The Kingspan.”

Echoing the words of former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, Mike added: “Giving young people an opportunity is a fantastic thing and they very seldom let you down. These lads never let me down when they put that jersey on."

Clogher Valley took to Facebook to congratulate Ballyclare, with a spokesperson for the club stating: “Unfortunately for us, the Towns Cup is not coming home to the Clogher Valley today after losing to Ballyclare. However, we wish to congratulate the Ballyclare 1st XV team on their win!”

Speaking to the club’s media tram, the Fivemiletown club’s Coach Stephen Bothwell said: “The focus is on gaining all-Ireland status and with an increasing list of injured players from a long hard season, we need to allow players to recover before the match on Saturday against Richmond.

"I want to thank Philip Hopper and his team for stepping up and playing two games in 48 hours, especially after a hard match against Armagh on Saturday.

“We had requested the Crawford Cup match to get switched around so that players could be given time to recover, but were told, ‘the Finals must go on’. This is a perfect example of success going against you.”

Meanwhile on Saturday, Ballyclare’s third XV won 27-6 over Ballynahinch fourth XV in the Forster Cup final while Ballyclare’s fourth XV lost 45-0 to Ballynahinch fifth XV in the McCambley Cup final.