Termon make perfect start as Caolan McDaid eyes embracing new challenges this season

Reigning All-County League Division 1 champions Termon have made a perfect start to the new campaign with back-to-back victories.

The Burn Road men opened with an impressive win over Gaoth Dobhair in Magheraragallon and followed that up with a convincing 1-15 to 0-8 victory against Glenfin on Saturday evening back at the Burn Road.

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Despite the final margin, the contest was far from straightforward. With the aid of Storm Dave in the opening half, Termon led by just two points, 1-6 to 0-7, at the break.

“We definitely were not up to scratch in the first half but thankfully we were much better in the second half,” was the immediate response of the Termon manager afterwards.

“We were two points up at halftime and we got a fortunate enough goal towards the end of the half to put us in that position.

“We were not happy with a lot of things in the first half. We were forcing a lot of things even though our basic handling was simply not good enough.

“We gave them a three-point head start because of our indiscipline, which was not good and is something we need to learn from the game.“Glenfin were winning all the breaks and secondary ball all over the pitch and Shaun Ward kicked a number of two-point frees into the wind, something he had in his locker.

“The goal, which was fortunate, came at the right time and instead of possibly going in a point down at halftime, we led by two.

“But we were far from happy in the dressing room knowing we were playing into the strong wind in the second half.

“We could have gone in and read the riot act but we decided not to. Instead, we focused on what we needed to do and, in fairness to the boys, we challenged them to go out and make a significant improvement.

“And in fairness to them, they responded well and were much sharper and more focused and took the game to Glenfin.

“We tightened up big time at the back and we also spoke at half-time that we were not playing with enough energy in the first half.

“Thankfully, that went up a notch or two in the second half. We were much improved and we took the game to Glenfin and got the scores to pull away from them.

“It is two wins from two games and both in poor conditions. We won down in Magheragallon last week in probably windier conditions than out there today.”

Termon’s strong finish saw them pull clear after the restart, tightening up defensively and making better use of possession to stretch their lead.

While they enter the season as champions, McDaid insists there is no added pressure on his side.

No, that is not how we see it. We parked the league win over the winter. That was last year and is the past. 

“This is a new season and it is time to look forward now with new challenges and the aim is to go out every day and play as well as we can and see where it takes us.

“We just want to be a Division 1 team playing Division 1 football every year and build a structure that hopefully sees some of our underage teams progress up and do the exact samel as well, to secure the future of the club at the top level.”

Next up for Termon is a trip to Rosses Park to face Dungloe.

“It is another big game. We know the challenge Dungloe poses. They are a very physical outfit, something we have to be aware of. But we embrace them and are looking forward to the game.”