Club fall to Valley again
VALLEY scored their third win of the season over fallen champions Hong Kong Football Club with a 25-14 First Division victory at Sports Road last night.
Two late second-half tries reversed a 14-11 deficit as Valley, with two titles this season, passed their first major test of the league campaign.
With wins over Club in the DHL 15s and the LOGO Cup, Valley knew they would have to fight for every point.
And they rose to the challenge superbly, Pieter Schats and Ashley Billington scoring a try each in the last 15 minutes to overcome a Club side who played the final 20 minutes without prop Ashley Jones, who was sent off, allegedly for stomping.
Club, who led 7-5 at half-time, looked headed for victory when they went 14-8 up 12 minutes into the second half.
Two penalty misses by Keith Gauntlet in the next five minutes proved crucial as Valley centre Isi Tu'ivai reduced his team's arrears to 14-11 with a penalty of his own.
Tu'ivai played a key role in Schats' try, kicking ahead and running 40 metres as Schats picked up the spoils to score.
Club made a desperate attempt to claw back but Billington killed off their chances with a brilliant interception and a 90-yard run to score.
Kowloon moved to the top of the table with a 40-12 victory over British Forces at Stanley Fort.
It was Kowloon's third win from three games putting them four points ahead of Valley and Police, who are joint second with eight points each.
