Donegal hurlers made another piece of history with a first-ever victory over Down in the Allianz Hurling League at Letterkenny at the weekend.
And it was no fluke. The home side dominated throughout, and was well worth their three-points win.
They really walked tall against a Down side who are playing in the Christy Ring Cup.
That win comes on the back of a fine victory over Derry that also made some history.
But, while they may have pulled off a huge victory over Down on Sunday, they are still not safe.
Despite having four points in Division 2B, something they have never achieved, they are still not certain of safety.
And if they fall to Armagh in next Sunday’s final league game, a relegation play-off with Derry awaits to decide who stays up.
And this will be a Derry team that will have their Slaughtneil contingent back in action.
So Brendan Rogers, the Cassidys and the McKaigues will be back and will pose a massive test.
So, there is even more motivation for talismanic team captain Danny Cullen and Co to win against Armagh, a team that has consistently played in higher divisions than Donegal.
“Other years we buckled but we held out strong and got the win,'' he said.
“We are delighted. It was really great to beat Down and this must be the greatest victory in my time with the team.
“We won a Nicky Rackard Cup in 2013 but this definitely ranks higher.
Cullen said it was: “a credit to all the boys and they really hurled well.
“We had the breezed in the first half and led by 0-10 to 0-5 and they only had one score from play.
“And we kept our heads in the second half and were well worth the win.''
But there were no celebrations, as Donegal will not be guaranteed anything unless they beat Armagh away next Sunday.
“Our focus is now totally on Armagh and if we lose to them it will be a relegation play-off against Derry, so four points will not be enough to keep us safe,'' he added.
“And Derry will have the Slaughtneil boys back which makes them so much stronger.
“So next Sunday is an equally tough task and that is our sole focus.”
Once again Cullen was a driving force for Donegal, hitting four points in a man of the match performance for the winners.
He was well supported by the McDermott clan and Davin Flynn in a great all-round team performance.
This victory follows on from a fine win over Derry in Letterkenny a few weeks ago which was the county’s first ever win in this competition and also its first ever victory over the Oak Leafers.
That was followed by a very creditable performance against Wicklow where they scored 0-21 but were undone by two rapid soft goals.
But this team seems to be growing in confidence under the new management of ex-Burt and county star Mickey McCann.
For veteran Cullen these are days to savour.
‘There have been a lot of lean years which makes this year all the sweeter,'' he declared.
“We have shipped some heavy defeats in the recent past so we wont be getting complacent.”
