NAOMH Conaill have played 27 games of knockout championship football in Donegal since 2015.
They’ve won 21, drawn two and lost four, three of which were finals.
What’s remarkable is the margins on which they so often come out the right side. In those eight years, their average winning margin is 3.6 points.
If you care to remove the outlier of a 14-point win over Glenfin three years ago, it drops further still.
To win by that little that often defines the saying that you make your own luck.
“Experience counts for a lot,” admitted manager Martin Regan after their latest two-point win over a St Eunan’s side that are absolutely sick of the sight of the Glenties men.
“If you’re winning tight games, you do carry that bit of confidence in the home straight.
“You’re coming to the last few minutes and you know you can see out games, it does make a difference mentally, without a doubt. You know you’re well prepared.
“We know every game we go into is gonna be a battle and go down to the wire.
“The players coming off the bench made a huge difference, Keelan McGill, Eoin Wade came in and gave us a lift. That makes a big difference too.
“They’re fine margins. We’ve come out the right side of it more often than not, but it isn’t always the case and won’t always be the case.”
Their two draws in that eight-year sequence were both against Gaoth Dobhair in the unforgettable sequence of three finals in 2019. Naomh Conaill won the second replay by a single point.
The previous year’s final, when they went on to win Ulster, was Gaoth Dobhair’s sole win in their last seven knockout championship meetings.
“Today, two weeks’ time against Gaoth Dobhair, they’re the same, they’re all 50-50 games. There’s never any more than a kick of a ball in the games between any of the top teams in Donegal.
“Odds, favourites, who’s blown up, who’s not given a chance, it generally is water off a duck’s back to us,” said multi-championship winning boss Regan.
