BY MATTHEW WILSON

The days are counting down towards the latest Donegal Senior Hurling Championship Final and St Eunan’s coach Paddy Flood insists that they will have to be at their best to get over the line against Setanta on Saturday.

The two hurling heavyweights progressed to Saturday’s showpiece following impressive displays in their respective last four clashes.

St Eunan’s ran out comprehensive winners against Sean MacCumhaills before Mark Marley’s men defeated reigning champions Burt in a repeat of last year’s decider.

Having played first, the Letterkenny men had the luxury of watching on for the second semi-final as they awaited their opponents.

Flood discussed that it was nice to be onlookers for the Setanta and Burt showdown but feels that all the sides know each other that well now that there wasn’t much learning to come from it.

“The reality is, and not just for St Eunan’s and Setanta, but with six senior teams we all know each other so well. There are no secrets.”

“So while it was nice to sit and watch the second semi-final that day, like I said, I don’t think there was learning in it.”

“We were put to the pin of our collar early on against MacCumhaills. It was a very uncomfortable first 15 minutes. But we upped it in the second quarter.”

“Setanta and Burt was a closer game. People will say we won well and were comfortable but MacCumhaills are a train that’s coming and watch that space over the next number of years”.

It appears to be positive news on the injury front for the O’Donnell Park residents ahead of the final as Flood stated that they have a full bill of health apart from the absent Sean McVeigh.

McVeigh’s been out for an extended period with an injury he picked up during Donegal’s Christy Ring campaign however, they’re hoping he’ll be fit to feature in Ulster later down the line.

“It’s too early for Sean. We have definitely qualified for Ulster, win or lose, we’re in the Intermediate. Setanta can only play in the Senior Championship.

“So we’ll be hoping he could feature there. That’s the reality for us but that’s been the situation for the entire season. Besides that, we’re in a good place with injuries”.

With two outfits featuring across this weekend’s three finals, hurling within the St Eunan’s club appears to be in a strong place.

The decision was made by the Senior and Intermediate management teams to keep the squads as a collective group which means that they’ve huge numbers at training each week.

The St Eunan’s coach stated that it’s been a fantastic experience being involved with the camp this season for this reason as everyone involved is pushing in the one direction.

“It’s been such an enjoyable experience and season because of that – the numbers at training. We have a lot of lads about the town that are back home and have got back involved.”

“Chris McAuley, a Ballycastle man, is senior manager with Eugene Organ as assistant and Eunan O’Donnell is in charge of the Intermediate side. And they made the decision to keep both squads together.”

“And it’s just been fantastic. It sets a standard and all the senior players were over here in Convoy last week cheering the lads on in the Intermediate semi-final.”

“I’m not sure that would have been the case had they not been soldering together on the training field. They are all in this together”

The Letterkenny men are now preparing for another showdown with The Cross residents in this Saturday’s Senior Championship showpiece at O’Donnell Park.

This is set to be the pair’s sixth decider meeting in the last nine years with Setanta getting the better of them on every occasion apart from 2021 when St Eunan’s triumphed.

The two sides met at The Cross in the opening round of the group stage where a last-gasp point from Gerard Gilmore earned Setanta a share of the spoils.

Not much is expected to separate the two outfits when they face-off again this weekend and Flood expressed that they’ll have to be at their best to come out on top.

“We know the task at hand – we will have to bring our absolute best to win it. Anything less and it won’t be good enough. Setanta have been the team to beat for the last decade now.”

“They have set a serious pace and serious standard to be fair. We got the better of them in 2021 but they have had the upper hand for most of the rest of the time.”

“And we know 2021 now is well in the rear view mirror and we have to step back up. This is the here and now and there is a fantastic opportunity in front of us.”

“We had a great tussle with them over at the Cross. Anyone there that evening really enjoyed it. The variables are different this Saturday, there is added pressure”.