CIYMS drew 25-25 away to Dundalk in the other semi final and now face a replay from which they will hope to join Bangor in an all-Ulster All Ireland Junior Cup Final.
With both Bangor and Clogher Valley able to field their full-strength starting XVs, backed up by an equally proficient seven man bench, this all-Ulster semi-final between two of the top teams within the Kukri Qualifying League had caught the attention of many rugby enthusiasts who were anticipating a memorable contest.
With hundreds of spectators lining the touchlines, and many more watching from the warmth and comfort of the clubhouse, Bangor’s Jason Morgan got proceedings underway.
An early drop goal from Clogher Valley outhalf Philip Holme gave the visitors an early 0-3 lead. Having been under considerable pressure, Bangor started to work their way back into the game and were eventually rewarded with a Mark Widdowson penalty, which levelled the scores at 3-3 after 20 minutes.
Further pressure from the home side soon resulted in another Clogher infringement at the breakdown, with Widdowson adding another three pointer.
Bangor’s continued pressure led to a third Widdowson penalty, which extended the lead to 9-3 and brought the first half to a close.
The only worrying time for Bangor came after 14 minutes when captain Jamie Clegg was somewhat harshly yellow-carded for pulling down a maul. From the resulting penalty, Clogher clawed back three points through Holme, making the score now 9-6.
However, obviously buoyed by their earlier dominance in the forwards, the seven man scrum of Bangor was now pushing the eight man Clogher pack backwards. Psychologically, this was a turning point, as Bangor now assumed control and prevented their opponents from developing any meaningful attacks. This, combined with Morgan’s positional kicking, resulted in Clogher being pinned down for most of the final quarter in their own half.
So Bangor progress and will await the winner of CIYMS v Dundalk.