By Matthew Wilson
St Catherine’s manager Shaun Kelly is hoping that his side can put it up to Bonagee United when the pair meet in the FAI Junior Cup this Sunday.
St Catherine’s enjoyed a superb victory last time out, defeating Keadue Rovers 4-1 in their own back yard at Emerald Park.
Kelly described the performance as one of their best of the season, with an Alex McBrearty brace accompanied by two other goals from Ryan Cunnigham and Daniel Gallagher earning them all three points.
“It was a brilliant win. We had a really strong team out, we were missing Odhran McGuinness who was away and Daniel Mullarkey was injured so Michael Mullin really stepped up to the plate for us and he was excellent.”
“It was a good win because Keadue are a good side and they’ve had six or seven draws this season so it was always going to be a tough game but it was definitely our best display of the season so far.”
Sunday’s victory over Patrick Bonner’s side was St Catherine’s second win of the Premier Division campaign, their first since they beat the same opponents in the reverse fixture back in October.
Despite this stat, the Killybegs based club have competed well throughout the season but have just come up short on a number of occasions.
These positive performances despite ending up on the losing side gave Kelly belief that a win was on the horizon and it arrived for them last weekend.
“We played Letterkenny and Bonagee there in January and I think that the Keadue win was coming because they were probably two of our best performances after the Christmas break.
“We were unlucky to come away with nothing from them. Going into that Keadue game I felt that we were capable of getting the three points but on the day you just don’t know in the league and everyone knows that any team could beat anyone.”
The three points last Sunday has lifted St Catherines off the foot of the table and into ninth position in the league ladder.
Speaking to the Donegal News, the St Catherines manager discussed that player availability has been difficult at times this season which may have been a factor in some of their results to date.
Although last weekend’s win accompanied by the last number of performances will have provided the group with a morale boost and Kelly is hoping that they can stick together to try to end the season strongly.
“It’s very hard at junior football sometimes to have everyone available at all times. I think that is our downfall, we don’t have the same team every week and the same availability but the players that are there and when they can commit they’re excellent. Hopefully we can just keep together for the run-in of the last 6 games.”
The Emerald Park residents have been boosted by the acquisition of Aaron Doherty who has joined up with the group in recent times.
Doherty was involved with the Donegal senior football team over the last number of years but stepped away from the group this term, opening the opportunity for him to return to soccer.
The Teelin native previously played at underage level for the side as well as at Finn Harps and he’ll be a big boost to the squad, as Kelly expressed.
“He’s (Aaron Doherty) excellent, absolutely brilliant. Even from listening to people talk about when he was younger, he’s a really good player. After playing GAA for so long, he seems like he enjoys playing so hopefully we can continue to have him. He’s been brilliant along with others, everyone stepped up on Sunday.”
Following last Sunday’s league win over Keadue Rovers, their attention now turns swiftly to cup action as they face Bonagee United in the FAI Junior Cup at Emerald Park this Sunday.
Shaun Kelly’s men have competed well against the Dry Arch Park residents this term, sharing the spoils earlier in the season before losing out narrowly to them back in January.
Mickey Funston’s side are coming into this clash off the back of a 2-0 league defeat against Donegal Town so they’ll be looking to bounce back but St Catherine’s will be seeking to carry forward their momentum.
The former League of Ireland player is aware of the threat that Bonagee United possesses from their previous encounters and knows his side will have to be on their game if they are to progress in the cup this weekend.
“Bonagee are an excellent side. They’re around the top of the table and they’re going to challenge Letterekenny.
“I think last time we played them we conceded some sloppy goals. We conceded too many because it was 4-3 in the league and I think if you’re scoring three against Bonagee then you have to be winning the game because they’re not going to let you slip up on things like that.
“We know how good of a side they are and they’ve some really good, experienced players but we’ll give it a go. Last year, we got Letterkenny Rovers in the FAI Cup and Bonagee this year so we’ll try our best and see where it goes.”
The Emerald Park outfit exited the Brian McCormick Cup in the Area Final, losing out to Donegal Town back in September.
The Killybegs man stated that this FAI Junior Cup is a competition that you’d relish a journey in but insisted that with the calibre of sides that are operating within the county, this’ll be no mean feat.
“I think the way the Brian McCormick Cup is, it starts nearly as your pre-season. Nobody has a full team so you can be in or out of a cup right away. For that being our main cup, it’s not ideal that you’re out of it at the start of the season but that’s the way it is.
“I think the FAI Cup is one you’d love to go on a run on and maybe get out of the county and see where it takes you but it’s extremely difficult. We’ve one of the strongest leagues up here in Donegal so to get out of the county would be great but by no means is an easy task.”
