Natixis Hong Kong Football Club left it to the last play of the game to retain their season unbeaten streak against a hungry Societe Generale Valley on Saturday. Fly-half Glyn Hughes scored a last-gasp drop goal to edge Valley 16-14 in what was rightly-labelled the Saxo Markets Men‘s Premiership round four must-watch match. It was the first time the pair have met since last season’s feisty Grand Championship final, with visiting Valley desperate to make amends having lost last time around. Valley’s vengeance looked sealed until Hughes’ moment of magic, much to the delight of coach Jack Wiggins. “We talk about those clutch moments. That’s part of our game. We’ve got a lot of people who are happy playing under that kind of pressure so I’m really proud of the boys today. Still not perfect but we’ll always take a win like that,” Wiggins said, praising the tactical play to tee up the kick. Football Club had shown instances of vulnerability having only just beaten their last three opponents. While there is still much work to be done, the reigning champions proved once again why they sit comfortably at the top. “We haven’t played as well as would have wanted to the last three weeks. Today was certainly a better performance. We deliberately wanted to try and play a bit more this week because we gave away too much possession. The scoreboard probably didn’t reflect the field goals and positions but we kept chipping away and didn’t go too much away from our game plan. We executed it in the end,” Wiggins said. “We prepped pretty hard this week. We came into this game not really training very well, funnily enough. We were a bit down on ourselves, but I said, ‘Look boys, we’ve got good and hardworking enough players to win the game’. It makes a difference in a clutch moment like that.” Ever-reliable Hughes secured a couple of early penalties to set the team up in the first half. The intense encounter also saw some serious-looking injuries to both teams – Valley lost Max Woodward after a clash of heads in what is their 16th injury so far, while Football Club’s Paul Tamonino walked off the field clutching his elbow. “Glyn definitely needed a performance this weekend and he came to the party and proved why he’s one of the best players in Hong Kong for the past three or four years. But he can’t do it by himself. “We always say it’s not over until it’s over. Games can change pretty quickly, so it was nice to sneak it in the end. Fair play to Valley. We’ve both struggled with injuries and there’s lots of players to come back, but it’s testament to the strength we’ve both got that we’ve managed to put on a show as good as that,” Wiggins said, adding that his returning national sevens players showed that “ball-in-hand, they’re as good as anyone in the world”. It was Valley who scored the game’s first try as Jonah Mau-u took advantage of Ruan du Plooy’s bulldozing run to the 22-metre line. Football Club’s Hughes responded with a tidy try to take a lead at the end of one of the most enthralling first-halves of the season so far. A hard-earned try for Valleys Luke Dewar and Matthew Rosslee’s conversion brought them back into contention as they tried see the win out in a very tense final 15 minutes. Coach Mark Fatialofa was understandably disappointed but insisted they will be back hungrier after the agonising loss. “I just didn’t think we owned it enough in the big moments of the game, especially towards the end,” Fatialofa said. “There are a few key areas that we’ve got to take more control of. We let the big moments slip and they took it. Congratulations to Football Club. We’ve got to move on and make the improvements. “We’re not going to take [injuries] as an excuse, we’re going to need them towards the end of the season. Our view is that we’re giving [reserve players] the game-time and the chance to perform and prove their worth. There’s no other experience than coming out here against Football Club, the best team in Hong Kong. “We’re all men here, so we’ve got to take it on the chin and move on. We didn’t win so we’re going to be stuck in mid-table so we’ve got to move our way up and improve each week,” Fatialofa added. Meanwhile, Herbert Smith Freehills HKU Sandy Bay dispatched DAC Kowloon 23-12 thanks to tries from Dean Rossouw, Benjamin Davey, Gair Currie and Tom McQueen. It was Kowloon new boy Harry Johnston who kicked them within touching distance throughout – but ultimately only helping them to a bonus point. Elsewhere, Borrelli Walsh USRC Tigers appear to be finding some form having won their second league game on-the-trot after beating Bloomberg Hong Kong Scottish 20-15. A crucial try from Josh Hrstich propelled Tigers to a health lead at half-time. Chris Maize added to the tally in the second half as Hong Kong Scottish had to rely on Gregor McNeish‘s penalties to maintain the deficit.