Experience is the teacher of all things. So said Julius Caesar, and as far as Galway football manager Padraic Joyce is concerned, the Tribesmen have built up a bank of championship knowledge to see them out of tricky spots.
Last year's All-Ireland finalists reached an eighth successive provincial final after accounting for a Roscommon side that threatened in the second-half to make it two big wins from two in Connacht.
The Rossies could only muster three frees in the opening 35 minutes, but were rejuvenated when Ciaráin Murtagh goaled in the 40th minute as his team hit 1-03 without reply.
They couldn’t press on however, Damien Comer proving the major thorn in their side as he finished with 1-04 from play to help the visitors to a four-point victory.
Having picked up wins over Mayo, Roscommon, Armagh (after extra-time) and Derry last year before running out of steam down the stretch in the All-Ireland decider against Kerry, Joyce believes the nous within the squad means their game management has moved to a different level.
"That’s the big thing for us, we didn’t panic, we didn’t get too excited when we were under the cosh," he told RTÉ Sport. "It was a matter of minding the ball and playing the way we play.
"That’s the pleasing part of the day for me. The players have gained the experience of last year from winning big games and it was great that that bit of experience showed on the pitch in the last 12, 15 minutes."
His counterpart Davy Burke must regroup the charges for the All-Ireland series, and after the high of turning over Mayo last time out, the young manager feels the energy from that may have been lacking, particularly in the opening half at Dr Hyde Park.
"We were very, very flat early on," he said. "The first half was extremely disappointing, probably the emotions of two weeks ago got to us a little bit early on.
"I like to think we rallied really well, and a couple of bounces of the ball in the second half went against us.
"We gave it so much two weeks ago, it was very difficult to be at the same pitch again. Ultimately, we got there, and when we got there, we looked like a decent team."
Galway have a fortnight to prepare for Division 4 champions Sligo, who easily accounted for New York on Saturday.
Joyce points to Sligo’s Under-20 provincial success last week at the expense of Galway, their achievements in college football in recent years and Tony McEntee’s upward curve with the Yeats County as reasons for caution.
And he certainly doesn’t buy into the theory that a provincial tile has lost any of its lustre.
'A lot of good stuff, a lot of bad stuff... any day you come of Hyde Park with a win in championship is a good day' - Padraic Joyce speaks to @damien_omeara after Galway's four-point win #SundayGame #rtegaa pic.twitter.com/Uxy1DPdw07
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 23, 2023
"I think people say, when they lose a match, 'sure it’s only the provincial’, but they are only saying that to gloss over getting beaten.
"It’s far easier in this system to go into it (All-Ireland round-robin series) as a provincial champion than a semi-final loser. If you go on and win the final you have a home game straight away. If you don’t, you'll more than likely have an away game against a Kerry or Dublin.
"At least we know where we are going and a Connacht medal is very important."
