BY MATTHEW WILSON

St Michael’s joint manager Martin McElhinney is expecting a tough test when they welcome Termon to the Bridge in a local derby this Sunday.

Following an opening day defeat to Sean MacCumhaills, St Michael’s got their first points on the board last weekend courtesy of a 16-point victory over Glenfin at Pairc Tabhoige.

McElhinney was pleased to get over the line against Frank McGlynn’s side last weekend but expressed that the scoreline may not have reflected the narrative of the encounter.

“We were happy to get the victory, it’s all about getting the two points on the board, especially after the performance that we had the week before. Glenfin is a hard place to go and in fairness they were right in it, they’d a chance for a two-pointer to level it. They missed and we just happened to get the next two or three scores and we pulled away then.”

“The scoreline probably didn’t reflect how tight it was in the first half but when you win by that much in the championship then it’s great but I wouldn’t be getting too carried away about it.”

It was a perfect response from the Dunfanaghey men off the back of their defeat to Gary Wilson’s side the week prior.

The joint St Michael’s boss stated that the group were disappointed with their overall performance on home soil last week, feeling that they let themselves down, but it was great to be able to bounce back quickly from it.

“We weren’t annoyed by the defeat, we were more annoyed by the performance. We weren’t at the races at all against MacCumhaills and we let ourselves and the supporters down so it’s good to bounce back from it.”

In round three of the Senior Championship this Sunday, St Michael’s face their nearby neighbours Termon in a local derby at the Bridge.

The Burn Road residents are coming into this contest off the back of a fine victory of their own, overcoming Barry Dunnion’s Four Masters side last Sunday.

McElhinney is anticipating a ‘tough task’ when the pair battle it out at the Bridge but insists that he’s looking forward to the clash this weekend.

“Termon are a serious team. They won the Division 1 League, you don’t win that from being a poor team. They probably would have had the better of us for a long period at underage level and it’s our local derby so we’re looking forward to it.”

“We know it’s a massive task but we’re lucky that it’s at home. They’ve a lot of players, their reserve team is strong as well. We know it’ll be hard to get a result at home but we’re just happy that we’ve got the two points on the board and we’ve the chance to get more points.”

Both North Donegal outfits enter this encounter on two points and a victory this Sunday would leave either side in a strong position going forward as it would likely secure knockout football.

The former Donegal player voiced how two points this weekend would be a massive boost but stated that they’ll just concentrate on putting in a good performance in their own backyard.

“A win would be huge and I’d say it would secure knockout football. If you win this weekend then you’re in with a chance of getting into the top four. We just want to qualify and get out of the relegation, we know we’re a bit off the top teams yet but anything can happen in the championship, you can go on a run.”

“We’ll focus on Termon first and we’ll try to put in a good performance. Even if you get beat, if you put in a good performance and you’re improving then it’s not too bad.”