Setanta using last year’s final hurt on the path to the SHC decider

Setanta have been no stranger to the Donegal Senior Hurling Championship final over the last decade, and they are once again into the final after a seven-point win over Burt.

It’s a ninth straight county final for the men from the Cross, winning five of those, but last year’s defeat to the Hibernian Park men was one that goalkeeper Kevin Campbell admits stung.

“There was a lot of hurt there from last year, and we had a lot of questions of ourselves. We didn’t perform on the day, so it was a long winter for us.

“But the boys are going good, we’ve put in a massive shift.

“And fair play to Mark (Marley) and the new management team, they’ve brought a whole new dynamic and different mindsets, and it has paid off so far.

“The county medals are what you want and it was a day where we just didn’t turn up and we didn’t have answers for the questions.”

They didn’t allow that defeat to enter their thoughts during Saturday’s match however, and a dream start with Gerard Gilmore finding the net inside 15 seconds helped their cause.

Conor Gartland did reply with a penalty five minutes later, but Setanta never trailed in the contest and some clinical shot taking helped them build up a healthy lead.

“It’s always good to get a goal with the first score of the game but then the penalty struck off the first goal. Burt came with a good game plan, but I’m happy we were able to negate it, the boys put in a serious shift but we still have things to work on for the final.

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“When you go into a match, it is all about the breaks, rucks and turnovers, but if you hit less wides than the other team and you’ve the same shots, then there’s a good chance you’re coming out with a better score difference.

“There were some fantastic scores from both sides and there’s real quality in that Burt team with the older boys like Stephen Gillespie and ‘Cricky’ (Christopher McDermott), then Conor Gartland and Jack Lavery, they have young boys coming through so they’ll be back again and I have no doubt in that.”

They now meet St Eunan’s in the final, and the pair have met five times in this decider since 2017, Setanta winning four of those encounters.

St Eunan’s have gone unbeaten in the league and championship so far this year and are looking impressive, but the Cross men are also looking strong after a healthy representation in the Donegal squad that competed well in the Christy Ring.

“One of the former Donegal managers said before that ‘a rising tide raises all ships’, and with the boys up playing in the Christy Ring, then it drives up our standards. 

“We had eleven or twelve boys up with the county so it makes it difficult when they’re away, so it’s good to have them back. We’re working with a small panel and the quality is very good in the panel.

“St Eunan’s are looking like the team to beat this year with new boys in and a new management but I’m sure our own management team will have a plan to go at them as best we can for the final.”