Like all capable defenders, Eimear Lafferty has a good sense of timing.
The Donegal woman had a period away from the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division after spells with Peamount United and DLR Waves.
The Covid-19 pandemic led her back to her home town of Inishowen, with a susequent stint at Derry City in the Women's Premiership keeping her sharp, before Lafferty - returning to Dublin for work purposes - linked up with the Clontarf GAA footballers.
In August, Sligo Rovers boss Steve Feeney brought the 27-year-old into his squad as the Bit O'Red looked to kick on in the second half of the season.
There was also a quiet confidence they could do something in the Sports Direct FAI Cup.
A week after coming on board, Lafferty lined up in the first round of the cup against Bonagee United, an amateur club from Donegal that she knew well. Sligo won 11-0, and Lafferty was up and running.
"Sligo have a great setup, the girls were all really welcoming," she says. "I think he [Feeney] was maybe looking to add a few girls at that stage you know? So he brought myself and Keeva [Flynn] in, a goalkeeper, to just kind of build a squad to finish the season off strong.
"I'm from Donegal, Inishowen. There's quite a few Inishowen girls here. There’s the Loughrey sisters [Jodie and Keri] and Paula McGrory so we’ve quite a big Inishowen representation.
"I knew a few of the [Bonagee] girls from football growing up. It was funny to play with Donegal girls against Donegal girls for the first game. Bonagee, I think they've done quite well in their league. They’ll be looking to push on in the next few years as well."
Lafferty works in tech recruitment and is based in Dublin. Sometimes she drives up to Inishowen after training; on other occasions she'll take the train back to the capital - "you can work on it and chill out" - as she combines sporting commitments with the day job.
Sligo are third from bottom having won just two league games all season. But the cup has proven to be a sanctuary, with the 1-0 quarter-final win against Bohemians at Dalymount Park their most siginificant result since they entered the League of Ireland in 2022.
To make it to Tallaght Stadium for the decider would be an enormous boost for the entire club.
"To be honest, I think belief," Lafferty replies when asked what's helped them get to this point.
"We had a good bit of confidence from the first game [against Bonagee], and then Steve was really instilling that belief in us. Playing Bohs in Dalymount is no easy task and I think that's spurred us on as well. They are a really strong side.
"I think genuinely it’s just belief. We do have a mixture of ages in the squad and things like that so that’s kind of the key now in the cup run.
"We've kept the heads down, we’ve been preparing well. We know it’s going to be no easy task but everyone is going to be going in there, you’re going into the game to win the game. We’re just believing in ourselves and getting a really good performance on the day."
Sligo square up to last season's beaten finalists Athone Town in the last four on Saturday evening.
The midlanders lost some key players to rival clubs over the winter, with boss Tommy Hewitt stepping away from his post in June. However, former Dundalk striker Ciaran Kilduff took the reins and he's proven to be a galvanising figure. Athlone will be a tough nut to crack.
"It's a cup game, anything can happen," Lafferty stresses.
"I definitely think just trying to get a performance on the day is what’s going to push us on, and believing in ourselves.
"I think it's a testament to Sligo Rovers, the club, as well. This is our second year involved and we’ve got some good wins the last few weeks. We’ll be looking to push on on Saturday as well. I think a massive part of it is the support of the club and obviously we have a home draw so we’ll really be looking for everyone to get behind us there."
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