Corofin manager is taking nothing for granted ahead of big showdown

COROFIN boss Kevin O’Brien says the quick turnaround between the county senior football semi-final and final should sufficiently focus his charges ahead of Sunday’s showdown against Mountbellew/Moylough at Pearse Stadium.

No doubt, Corofin will be heavily fancied to successfully defend their SFC crown in a rematch of last year’s decider – a fixture they won by 2-14 to 0-10 – but O’Brien insists they take nothing for granted in the home of the reigning All-Ireland champions.

“We have a big focus going into the game because there is such a quick turnaround in terms of getting up for a big game like Annaghdown (in the semi-final) and then you have got to leave that aside and focus on Mountbellew, who we have the greatest respect for.”

Both sides are certainly familiar with one another given this will be the third time they will meet in four years in the county decider. “They have a lot of good players in the Dalys and so forth,” says O’Brien. “So, we will definitely be focused on the game.

“It is a county final and it is a stage of the championship where you have to respect every team and focus on what is happening and really focus on the details. Games like these don’t come around too often, so you have to be focused on them.”

Since their magnificent All-Ireland senior club football title triumph in March, Corofin have showed little signs of losing focus. In the group stages, they defeated 2017 intermediate champions Claregalway by 1-17 to 0-10 before whitewashing Cortoon Shamrocks (5-16 to 0-6) and An Cheathru Rua (5-16 to 1-8) in their next two games.

Gay O’Brien’s St. James’ though posed a tougher test in their final group fixture in mid-September. “Yeah, we were delighted to get over that one,” he admits. “It was the league final as well from the previous year so it was an important game for us to win.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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