BY MATTHEW WILSON
TERMON manager Caolan McDaid is looking forward to this weekend’s league encounter when they travel to Donegal Town to face Four Masters.
Termon were in action last Saturday evening when they recorded an 11-point victory over Aodh Ruadh at the Burn Road.
It was a high scoring contest, with eight goals being shared between the sides, but the home side managed to pull away and secure the two league points.
“We started well and Aodh Ruadh got their first score which was a goal, after that it became a bit of a goalfest”, said McDaid.
“From an attacking point of view, we were happy but when you’re conceding too you’re trying to find a bit of balance too.
“It’s like any game, you take the positives and you always look at little things you can work on for the next game too.”
The Burn Road residents have hit a good run of form in Division 1, with the win over the Ballyshannon men extending their unbeaten record to five games.
They’ve shown real character to register results during this fruitful period, with second-half comebacks required to get over the line against St Eunan’s and Naomh Conaill in successive weeks.
Prior to this spell, McDaid’s outfit lost back-to-back games against St Michael’s and Kilcar which led to discussions on where they could improve.
The analysis appeared to do the trick as the group managed to turn their form around and discover a consistency which the Termon boss is pleased with.
“We are pleased. We lost to Kilcar and the following week we lost to St Michaels and we touched on a lot of things from those games.
“We looked at why we lost them. We touched on conversion rate and attacking wise we wouldn’t have been happy in those two games, we didn’t score enough.
“Over the last couple of weeks there’s been improvement and we’re pleased that they’re taking what we’re working on in training and bringing them into games.
“A bit of momentum and confidence has dripped in there too. We’re pleased with the last few weeks so we just have to keep that momentum and consistency going forward.”
As well as producing performances and recording results, the Burn Road outfit have also increased their squad depth during the course of the league campaign.
They’ve been without Cormac Gallagher for large spells of the league due to his involvement in the Donegal senior panel while others have been ruled out through injuries.
But the Termon manager has put faith in the youth including the likes of Shea Boyle and Ruairi Conaghan who are stepping up to the plate for the side.
“Ruairi (Conaghan) hasn’t played much Gaelic through underage, he was at Finn Harps and committed to soccer. He came back the past year, we’re pleased to get him and he’s very athletic to add to our profile.
“Shea Boyle is another young lad, this is his first year at senior level and he’s scoring two or three points every game so we’re very impressed with Shea.
“The reserve manager pointed out to me in the Eunan’s and Naomh Conaill game that we’d six or seven players in the starting team that were reserve players last year.
“I didn’t know that myself and we’re really pleased. A goal we set at the start of the league was to get a bit more depth because we had a number of injuries and have a few away in America. It was one of our goals and we feel that boys have stepped up so we’re pleased.”
With two games to go in the Division 1 campaign, Termon’s strong recent form sees them sit in third place in the league standings.
As reigning league champions, they’d be keen to secure their place in a second successive showpiece and defend the title they clinched last term.
They’re well in the mix to do so but they face a big test this weekend as they travel to Donegal Town for a meeting with second place Four Masters.
The pair have contested some big battles over the last number of years including last year’s Division 1 decider and McDaid expects this weekend’s match to be no different.
Speaking to the Donegal News, the Termon boss mentioned the talent that the Tir Conaill Park residents possess but stated that these are the matches you look forward to being involved in.
“Definitely not and we look forward to these challenges. No different to the Naomh Conaill and St Eunan’s games a few weeks ago, Four Masters are a top quality side.
“But this is where we want to be. You want to be in Division 1 and play against the top teams in the county.
“It’s no secret now about the amount of young lads coming through at Four Masters, they’re up at county under 20s, county senior panels and the talent they have is unbelievable.
“We want to challenge ourselves against these teams and you try to put your best foot forward. A little bit of competitiveness and rivalry too, they’ll push us on and we’ll push Four Masters on so it’s really good.”