Momentum now taking Termon in the right direction

Daire McDaid has felt a surge of confidence course through Termon’s veins in recent weeks.

Termon lost their first 11 All-County League matches and were relegated to Division 2.

However, they’re now unbeaten in four. A draw with Glenfin concluded the League and they opened the IFC with a stalemate against Gaeil Fhánada.

Now, wins over Naomh Muire and Burt have the mood rather more positive around The Burn Road. McDaid kicked five points on Saturday as Termon overcame Burt 0-12 to 2-3 at Hibernian Park, their passage safe to the quarter-finals of the IFC.

“It was a massive victory,” McDaid told Donegal Live.  “We really had to dig deep in the second half to pull that out of the bag.

Flick of a coin tells the tale as Termon overcome Burt

Termon continued their unbeaten start to the IFC when they came from five down to defeat Burt at Hibernian Park

“We’re in a good place now, but we want to win the home game next week and keep the momentum going.

“We had a poor League. We weren’t getting beaten by massive scores in the latter part of the League and we were competitive. We just knew we had to keep going and get some momentum with us.”

McDaid was beset by a hamstring ailment in the League, but has returned to lethal effect.

His handful on Saturday included a couple from the top drawer, albeit aided by a stiff wind at his back.

He said: “It’s always good when they go over. Thankfully they went over today. Sometimes when those big frees go over it gives the team confidence.”

That Termon were able to spring Conor Black, Enda McCormick and Bobby McGettigan off the bench is perhaps another indicator of why their graph has turned. Jamie Grant’s imminent return from the US will be another plus for a Termon side that battled from 2-3 to 0-4 down after Christy McDermott and Jack O’Brien netted goals for Burt.

McDaid said: “We struggled to get a score in the first few minutes of the second half. They got the goal to put them five up, but we just kept chipping away at the points. We got momentum, we got confidence and that got us over the line.

“We had to be patient. We have probably learned from games where we went for goals far too early. We chipped away at the points and that got us the win.”

The Termon sharpshooter was keen to mention John Connaghan - also a member of the senior backroom team - and Nicky Friel, who were injured while playing for the Termon against Naomh Padraig, Lifford in the Senior C Championship on Friday evening.

“I want to wish them all the best,” McDaid said. “They had a bad clash in the thirds game, but thankfully they’re recovering well.”