Martin Regan content with Naomh Conaill’s handling of the heat

As he pointed the car for Dunfanaghy on Sunday, Martin Regan could feel the heat.

It wasn’t just the autumnal sun providing heightened temperatures for the Naomh Conaill manager.

Regan was well aware of the sums ahead of a SFC joust with St Michael’s at The Bridge. Naomh Conaill, who’ve been in the last five finals, won 3-8 to 0-9 on a day when their experience told a vast difference.

“If we had lost this, we’d have been under serious pressure to qualify,” Regan said.

Round four of the Donegal SFC sees a repeat of the 2019 trilogy

Naomh Conaill will play Gaoth Dobhair in the fourth round of the Donegal SFC - although there remains a possibility a team can stay up without so much as a point

“I felt it anyway. I don’t know if the boys did, but I certainly did. I knew this was a must win.

“The pressure is off a little bit, but most of the teams on the other side are winning too. You still have a lot of teams who could qualify.”

Charles McGuinness helped himself to 2-2 and the timeless Brendan McDyer netted the other goal.

It is 17 years now since McDyer played his part in Naomh Conaill’s maiden capture of Dr Maguire in 2005.

“Brendy was brilliant,” Regan said.

“It just opened up for him for the goal. He kicked a wide just before that and he wasn’t happy about that. Brendy was really clinical out there. He kicked a great point in the second half and he’s on a good run of it the last few weeks. He has been excellent in all three games and he’s a big player for us.”

A draw with Glenswilly on the opening day raised Naomh Conaill’s needs at St Michael’s. Relief was the order of the afternoon, particularly when the draw pitted Naomh Conaill with Gaoth Dobhair for round four of the group phase.

Efficient Naomh Conaill use their experience for valuable win at St Michael’s

Naomh Conaill scored three goals to earn an eight-point win over St Michael's at The Bridge, moving them a step closer to the Donegal SFC quarter-finals

An epic final trilogy in 2019 saw Naomh Conaill prevail, dethroning the then Ulster and Donegal champions. Last year, Naomh Conaill had Gaoth Dobhair’s number in a semi-final.

Regan has yet to welcome forward Eoghan McGettigan and defender Ultan Doherty back from long-term injuries. They are, the manager observed, ‘moving nicely’ again, but neither will be thrust into the trenches until ready.

Regan said: “We’re getting there. I still think that there’s a wee bit more to find in the team, but that’s natural when you have players coming back from injuries and haven’t a lot done in the last five or six weeks.

“We’re slowly getting up to speed. We’re not at the level we’d like to be at and we’ve got plenty to work on.

“We’re delighted to get the result. The Bridge is a hard ground to come to and that’s the second tricky away game now we’ve had with Glenswilly and St Michael’s. It was all about getting the result.

“In general, we kept the ball fairly well. We had a few wee mistakes, but overall we were pleased.”