BY MATTHEW WILSON
BONAGEE United manager Paul Doherty is ready to embrace the challenge this Sunday when his side host Tramore in the SFAI Youth Cup.
2025 was a superb season for the Bonagee United Under-16s, sealing the league title after an unbeaten campaign and nearly completed the double but lost to Ballyraine in the cup final on penalties.
Doherty expressed that his outfit played a great brand of football last term and was pleased with how the season unfolded.
“Last year was a good season for them, they went unbeaten in normal time. Ballyraine beat them on penalties in the cup and they went unbeaten in the league.
“They’re a good side, with the right sprinkle of aggression. They were all-county last year which was a good year for them and was a learning curve for them. The club at the minute are transitioning to an academy setup so it’s introduced a more possession based game.
“A lot of the players had to adapt but we were very happy last year, we stuck to our guns and played football.”
The Dry Arch Park residents haven’t been in competitive action since that spot-kick’s defeat to Ballyraine in the cup final back in September.
They will have regathered in recent weeks to begin their preparations for Sunday’s SFAI Cup encounter but Doherty discussed that between Christmas and other sports, it’s difficult to get everyone together.
However, the Bonagee United Boss is expecting the side to gel back together seamlessly, with the successful season that they enjoyed last term under their belt.
“That’s going to be a big factor in this weekend’s encounter because we’re off season. We have three or four players that are playing Saturday League and a couple of them are seniors at Bonagee.
“Over the Christmas period it’s nearly impossible to get squads out for training, with a lot of them on holidays from schools and stuff like that and a lot of them are playing dual. We don’t stop them playing gaelic as well so it’s hard to get them together.
“The only benefit we have is that a lot of them are doing other things so fitness shouldn’t be an issue and they are a tight squad. Although we haven’t worked together in two months, they’ve a full season under their belts so we’re fairly confident that they should be able to gel together quickly come matchday.”
Bonagee United are now priming themselves for an encounter on the national stage this Sunday when they welcome Waterford outfit Tramore to Dry Arch Park.
The Déise side have triumphed in this competition previously on two separate occasions and they’ll present a big challenge for Doherty’s charges.
The Bonagee United boss is expecting a tough test when the pair meet in Letterkenny this weekend but he insisted that games like this is why they entered the tournament.
“It’s a tough test but that’s why we entered the competition. I remember going down to St Kevin’s a couple of years ago and it plants the seed in your brain that if you want to compete then this is the level of competition that you’ve to play.
“Unless you take on these challenges then you won’t learn these things, you can’t sit in your comfort zone. That’s the message that we’ll be giving to the players, you go out, enjoy the fixture, do your best and if you see that they’re better then you see where you have to improve.”
Sunday is set to be a brilliant occasion, with Bonagee United hosting this SFAI Youth Cup clash. The young side will have a vocal home support behind them on the day and Doherty is hopeful that his outfit can display a good performance for them.
“It’s brilliant to have it on home soil. It takes the element of logistics and all away from the event and we can enjoy the actual game.
“If we’re on form and everybody is on form then we should be able to put on a good show for them. At these tournaments you don’t know what you’re facing. I don’t think we will change our game but we will have to adapt a bit to their style but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
