Michael Langan delivered a man-of-the-match display against Kerry on Saturday.
Langan didn’t feature against Down four weeks ago but he was back in the mix for this match and was central to Donegal’s victory.
It was a challenging match but Langan was content afterwards as Donegal got the result they craved.
“There was huge intensity out there and you could see it. There was a lot on the line especially what went on in the last couple of games between us and the All-Ireland (last year).
“Championship games are like that and that’s how they are meant to be.
“We’re just happy to come down here and get a win and move on to the next game.”
Tempers boiled over on the stroke of half-time but Langan said there was calmness in the Donegal dressing room afterwards.
“We said very little for five minutes just to settle down a wee bit.
“We came in and we just said we were happy enough with how the first half went and it was just more of the same in the second half really.
“That was it and just try not to get caught up in the atmosphere and everything else that was going on around us.”
There was much speculation in the lead up to the match regarding if Langan would play or not after missing the Down match.
However, the joint-captain was pleased to be able to play and contribute to a famous win in Killarney.
“It’s been a tough couple of weeks obviously after missing the Down game.
“I was hurting and Donegal was hurting and there was real fire in the belly.
“Training has been good for the last few weeks coming into this game and I was just happy to help the team out. That was the main thing.”
Donegal won’t find out until next week who they are playing in the next round but Langan isn’t getting too worked up about that.
“It’s a bit cliché but it’s just another game now.
“The last time we beat Kerry, we got beat by Down as we all know.
“So it’s just about lazar focus for the next couple of weeks to prepare for that next game.”