Mac’s View: Championship subs controversy blame lies firmly with the officials 

It is fair to say we got the first big surprise of the championship last weekend with Termon’s win over St Eunans to knock the reigning champions out.

It was a massive result for the Burn Road club and a big result for the championship in general as it and has blown the thing wide open. 

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I think it is safe to say all of the eight teams left in the race - Sean MacCumhaills, St Michael’s, Kilcar, Gaoth Dobhair, Dungloe, Four Masters, Naomh Conaill and Termon will feel they are capable of going all the way. 

It has been a long time since we had that situation in the county. At this early stage I’m going to put my head on the block and I have to admit I fancy Kilcar. 

While it was a surprise, Termon are a good young side they had already won the Division One league.

There was controversy at the end about a late substitution and the sub scoring the lead point while the replaced player was still on the field.

From what I understand, the game should have been stopped and not restarted again until the player being replaced came off. So Termon did nothing wrong and the fault lies firmly with the officials. 

There was talk of St Eunans lodging a protest, which they were perfectly entitled to do but decided not to go ahead with it which is good. And fair play to them. 

And so to the quarter-finals. Sean MacCumhaills and St Michael’s get the ball on Saturday evening, in O’Donnell Park. 

From what I’m hearing, Sean MacCumhaills are going to be without Oisin Gallen. He did not play either last weekend against Downing and is set to miss this weekend’s tie with that same ankle injury.

He is a huge loss. He was back playing well. I watched the MacCumhaills and Glenswilly game on the live stream and he was really flying. 

It is because of his absence that I fancy St Michael’s to win that game. St Michael’s are a good team. They have Michael Langan, one of the best midfielders in the game at present and a huge player for St Michael’s. 

Daniel McLaughlin, joint player/player boss with Martin McElhinney, is also playing really well. St Michael’s are a big side too and progressing nice and quietly in the championship. 

Next up on Saturday night in Glenties is the meeting of Kilcar and Gaoth Dobhair, which has the potential to be a cracking game under the lights. I think I might go to it. 

As I mentioned already, I fancy Kilcar for the championship. Ryan McHugh, Mark McHugh and Ciaran McGinley are playing well for them. I’m not sure what the story is with Eoin McHugh and Patrick McBrearty being injured. But if they get all their players back on the field they will be serious challengers. 

And yet they could be out on Saturday night. Gaoth Dobhair are going well and were the only team to come through the group stages unbeaten. They obviously have Daire Ó Baoill back for the championship and I see Odhran MacNiallais is back playing which is good to see and they have a number of good underage players coming through. They are capable of upsetting my prediction. 

Dungloe and Four Masters are first out of the blocks on Sunday in Fr Tierney Park.

They met a couple of weeks ago in Dungloe and it took a late Shaun McGee two-pointer score to snatch a late draw. 

It is good to see Dungloe back again, challenging after getting to the final. Four Masters are a good young side and are going to be a force in the next few years. But I fancy Dungloe to win this one. 

They may be a year or two further down the road in their development that Four Masters and the experience they gained last year just tips the scales in favour of the men from the Rosses.

Naomh Conaill and Termon bring down the curtain on the quarter-finals on Sunday afternoon in O’Donnell Park. 

The big question in this one is can Termon continue their giant-killing run with another big scalp in Naomh Conaill.

The men from Davy Brennan Park were installed as the new favourites following St Eunan’s exit in most observers eyes. 

Ciaran Thompson’s injury is a huge blow to Naomh Conaill. And it is Ciaran's absence that is swaying me towards another big win for Termon. 

I had a visit last week from former Donegal great and ex-teammate Paul Kelly. He was in the area on holiday and he called in to see me. 

I had not seen Paul in years. Unfortunately the visit was all too short but it was great to see him. Paul was from Falcarragh. 

He played for Donegal in the 1960s from ‘62 to ‘69, and he was one of the finest corner-backs ever to play for the county.  

Finally, this week, I want to address the issue of the football playing season. Last Sunday Bundoran seniors played their last game this year.

By my calculations they will not play again for at least six months. Bundoran are not alone. I’d say 16 to 17 clubs have played their last game until next March. 

And what's more, another 15 or so will be in the same boat after the weekend.. It is not good enough and we are going to have to do something about it. 

Last but not least congratulations to Declan Bonner on his appointment as Fermanagh senior manager. 

Brian McEniff was in conversation with Tom Comack.