Roscommon's Cathal Cregg said it was a "massive achievement" for his team to reach the Super 8s after their six-point win over Armagh in the Round 4 qualifier game in Portlaoise.
Enda Smith bagged two goals, the second one sealing the win for the Rossies in the final minute of a very high scoring game in O'Moore Park.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport afterwards, Cregg said the heat was stifling during the game but both teams were equally affected.
"It was very tough. The heat was massive in the second half. The ground was very hard. But we got the subs in and they made the difference.
"It was the same for both teams. Armagh never gave up. It was the goal three or four minutes into injury-time that wrapped up the game. So, fair play to Armagh. It was a massive, massive game.
"We saw what Armagh did against Sligo and Clare and we knew they weren't going to go away. Fair play to our lads. They got five or six points on the bounce when we were three points down. That was great to see that when the chips are down they went at it. And they did the same in the second half when Armagh got it back to one point.
Rebounding from their loss to Galway in last month's Connacht Final, the victory secures their passage to the inaugural All-Ireland quarter-final group stage.
They find themselves in a group with Dublin, Donegal and Tyrone, who subsequently hammered Cork in the qualifier game in Portlaoise).
"It's a massive achievement for us to be playing in the Super 8s. Whoever wins the next game (Tyrone), Dublin and Donegal. So, it doesn't get any bigger than that."
