Kieran Fitzgerald has praised Corofin's mental wherewithal after their win over Padraig Pearses in the Connacht final.
The 1-10 to 0-7 win over Pearses seals the fourth provincial final in a row for Corofin, and full-back Kieran Fitzgerald believes that the strength the side have shown in recent weeks is typified by the goal-scoring exploits of man of the match Liam Silke.
"That was a tough one now. It was our intention to come out after half-time and put the game to bed. They came back and made it 0-6 all, they were pushing hard and making it difficult for us," Fitzgerald reflected.
"As they pushed hard, they left a few gaps at the back and our lads got a bit of room. That was the straw that broke the camel's back."
He also believes that while Pearses typify the Roscommon way of playing,
"Roscommon bring a lot of that edge to the game anyway, and they use it to their advantage - so we weren't surprised by that. I thought the referee did pretty well as well.
"Silkey with the goal - that's what he does. The last few games he has really come to the fore - he got a great goal against Ballintubber as well.
"The drive in these players is super. They don't get ahead of themselves, they think about every game and what's gone is gone. This game will be put to bed pretty soon after we review it.
"We want to push now on again - we have an All Ireland semi-final against the Munster champions again in January and that is going to be tough."
Fitzgerald is keen to kick on not only due to his innate competitiveness, but because he knows that Corofin are the ones to beat.
"We enjoy it. We want to keep it going. We are there to be knocked now, and one day we will be knocked. We have had a good few close shaves."
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