Ulster Senior League fold would be really sad - Jason Gibson

Jason Gibson admits the contemplation that Bonagee United and Cockhill Celtic might well be crossing paths for the very last time at Ulster Senior League level is difficult to believe.

The latest chapter in a brilliant Intermediate football rivalry is down for consideration this Sunday when the pair collide in the Donegal News USL Cup final in Maginn Park, Buncrana.

A neck and neck title race seems like it was finally settled following the Inishowen side’s 2-1 league win over Bonagee a fortnight ago. A draw would have been enough for Bonagee to have stemmed Cockhill’s ten-in-a-row charge.

With no games left to play, they must now sit and hope that Gavin Cullen’s men slip up in their final pair of league outings. That though is an unlikely scenario and with the axe now threatening to fall on the USL - there might well be no opportunity for Bonagee to try again in 2024.

And ahead of the weekend’s cup final showpiece, Gibson admits the contest is slightly overshadowed by that contemplation.

“With two teams at the top like that, there is a real rivalry,” he explained. “But there is a great deal of respect and admiration there too. It’s another brilliant challenge - you have to embrace it. And you have to be thankful you’re competing at that level.

“I said to our lads before the league game last time out. go back seven or eight years ago and Bonagee were whipping boys. But we were within a kick of a ball from winning the league the weekend before last.

“We’ve come a long way. And we’ve won trophies along the way as well. We’re looking forward to Sunday. It’s another chance to cross swords with Cockhill and it’s a real chance to land silverware.

“But the bigger discussion right now is where is the league going, what’s its future?”

Gibson has shared a sideline with Damien Duff at Dry Arch while Cockhill came agonisingly close to FAI Intermediate Cup final glory last month but were pipped on penalties by Roy Keane’s junior club, Rockmount United, in the decider. The Bonagee boss fears days like that are numbered if the USL folds.

“If you look at that field a fortnight ago, it had some serious quality. I always felt that Intermediate football gave a platform to lads coming out of say National League or U-19s.

“The Corey McBrides and the Jack Clarkes are that side of it. The other part to it is the Tony McNamees, Peter Dohertys and the Gareth Harkins that are involved. Different fellas got different things out of Intermediate football.

“It’s a great rivalry we have with Cockhill. For those two sides not to be playing each other next season at that level… it makes me a little sad.

“The players and management teams in both squads put serious time and effort into it. But, the decision is with the powers that be now and it’s out of everyone else’s hands. If it folds, will players gravitate back towards their own junior clubs?

“If that does happen it will dilute the standard, I feel, across the board. The big days like the one Cockhill had in the Intermediate Cup final, they’ll be gone. We’d Shelbourne at Dry Arch last season ourselves - it was massive for us”.

With that curtain of uncertainty threatening to close, Bonagee would no doubt love to hold onto their USL Cup. And if that comes at the expense of Cockhill it would have to taste even sweeter.

“We meet five to six times a year because of the nature of the thing but there is never anything more than a bounce of a ball or a bit of luck between the teams. Sunday, I expect, will be the exact same”.