'We got away with one there', says Gavin Cullen as Cockhill return to winning ways

Even if he wasn’t gushing about his team’s performance, Cockhill Celtic manager Gavin Cullen was content to see his side return to winning ways.

Christy McLaughlin’s goal at Dry Arch Park proved the only goal of the game as Cockhill saw off Bonagee United, the Donegal League leaders, in an Ulster Junior Cup quarter-final.

A week after exiting the FAI Junior Cup at the hands of Avenue United, Cockhill shook their heads clear to get a valuable win.

“We had to regroup and dust ourselves off,” Cullen told Donegal Live. “The boys here have a good attitude.

“I thought we were the far better team in the first half, but in the second 45 Bonagee were the better team. We got away with one there. We just got over the line and we were under a bit of pressure. They had a couple of big chances.”

McLaughlin netted straight from a corner kick in the 24th minute and the reigning Inishowen League champions held on despite stern Bonagee pressure in a frenetic finale.

Cullen, who takes his side to Druminderry next Sunday for a League Cup derby at Illies Celtic, said: “It was a tough, tight game and both teams gave a good enough account of themselves, but I’d be a wee bit disappointed with our second half. 

“We had some big opportunities where we took the wrong option. When it’s 1-0 you’re always susceptible to chances and Bonagee will probably be annoyed at themselves that they didn’t get level.

“We were really poor in possession in the second half. We weren’t smart enough so we made it harder than it needed to be.

Read next: Donegal native Ciara Craig takes Ulster Elite lightweight title

“Bonagee got a bit of momentum and kept coming at us. We could have killed the game off, but we didn’t. It’s still a super result. It was good to be back here again. We had some great games here over the years and it’s the kind of game that the county wants to see.”