Termon prove too strong for Aodh Ruadh as they clinch Division 1 title

Despite the Termon management admitting during the week that they were not taking anything for granted, their side’s performance on Sunday in MacCumhaill Park only strengthened the argument that they are still the best team in the county following a superb win over Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon. 

In doing so, the Termon ladies are once again Division 1 champions as they led from start to finish in the final, which saw them slot home five fantastic goals as they eased their way to victory with Geraldine McLaughlin finishing with a fantastic 1-6 to her name and leading from the front. 

People were expecting a strong start from the Termon ladies, and that is exactly what they got in the opening minute when Geraldine McLaughlin did what she does best by landing a superb goal. 

A long ball into the full-forward resulted in her beating two defenders, soloing the ball off her left before shooting off her right as the green flag was raised. 

Aodh Ruadh would kick back moments later when Gillian Dufficy slotted over a free after missing a close-in one previously. 

But Termon never let their foot off the gas and were finding pockets of space far too easily for McLaughlin to run into and capitalise. County star Jodie McFadden would nail over her side's second score, but once again McLaughlin was on hand to exploit the space and find herself one-on-one for a goal. 

She could’ve gone herself but opted to palm it to the running Ciara McGarvey who slapped the ball into the net to make it 2-1 to 0-1 after only 10 minutes. 

It was going from bad to worse for Aodh Ruadh who were struggling to get their hands on their own kickouts. McLaughlin nailed over back-to-back points, with Roisin Friel also hitting one before Meabh Brady fired home her side's third goal after easily running through the Aodh Ruadh defense to slide it low into the net. 

To Aodh Ruadh’s credit, they did keep the intensity high, despite trailing by so much early on, with Dufficy even hitting her side’s second point from a free, by the strength of Termon in the backline was just too much for the Ballyshannon side. 

And that showed after 22 minutes, when Termon won a turnover in their defense, the resulting effort saw a long ball kicked into space into McLaughlin who in turn passed it inside to Brady who fired home her second goal of the day. 

It was a long way back for Aodh Ruadh at this stage, but they were awarded a penalty when Andrea Moore found herself inside for a goal, only to be fouled by goalkeeper Orla Corry, who in turn was sin binned for the challenge as Dufficy slotted the ball home. 

With a player to their advantage, Aodh Ruadh didn’t stop there. A poor kickout from Termon’s in-standing goalkeeper Roisin McCafferty found the ball land into the hands of Dufficy who fired home her second goal of the afternoon to make it 4-5 to 2-2 on the 27th minute. 

But Termon would finish the half the stronger of the teams in the final four minutes with McLaughlin, McGarvey, and Brady all raising white flags as, what was a Helter Skelter first half came to a close with Termon leading 4-9 to 2-2. 

It was Aodh Ruadh who set the tempo in the second half, with substitute Eimear McMahon landing the opening score of the second half, but the Ballyshannon side knew that they had a long way to go to compete with Termon. 

But the ladies from the Burn Road weren’t going to lie down that easily with McLaughlin adding her total to 1-5, while McFadden kicked her second of the afternoon. 

McLaughlin and Evelyn McGinley traded pints with Aodh Ruadh’s McMahon in the final quarter of the match in what was a really low-scoring second half, while Jodie McFadden put the icing on the cake with a late goal as Termon ran out deserved league winners in what was a really strong performance led by McLaughlin throughout. 

Scorers – Termon: Geraldine McLaughlin 1-6, 3fs; Meabh Brady 2-1; Jodie McFadden 1-2; Ciara McGarvey 1-1; Roisin Friel 0-2; Evelyn McGinley 0-1. Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon: Gillian Dufficy 2-2, 1 pen, 2fs; Eimear McMahon 0-2, 1f. 

Termon: Orla Corry; Ríonach Giles, Roisin McCafferty, Jenny McGettigan; Niamh Bonner, Evelyn McGinley, Aoibhe McDaid; Jodie McFadden, Megan Ryan; Lauren Gallagher, Roisin Friel, Anna Gallagher; Ciara McGarvey, Geraldine McLaughlin, Meabh Brady. Subs: Meabh McDaid for Giles (HT); Sophie Curran for Brady and Kate McCafferty for Lauren Gallagher (both 39 mins); Cayla McFadden for Friel (50 mins); Chelsea Gorman and Ava Friel for Bonner and Anna Gallagher (both 55 mins). 

Aodh Ruadh Ballyshannon: Niamh Hoey; Niamh Barrett, Roisin McGloin, Katie McGowan; Sara Gallagher, Anna Rafferty, Aoibhinn McGarrigle; Anna Lisa Rabitte, Orla Keon; Andrea Moore, Cait Gillespie, Siofra Hughes; Gillian Dufficy, Terri Gallagher, Caoimhe Keon. Subs: Eimear McMahon for Terri Gallagher (HT); Caoimhe Devine for Anna Lisa Rabitte (46 mins); Ciara Larkin for Hughes (54 mins); Cadhla Dolan for McGowan (56 mins); Aoife Travers for McGarrigle (59 mins). 

Referee: Paul Clifford