Jack O'Connor pleased with 'rounded' performance but missed chances 'disappointing'
And while a more rounded performance it was, when you scratch away at the surface and move beyond the eight goal chances not taken and eight first-half scoring chances from play not taken, it was again their third quarter lift that proved decisive.
After Darragh Cavanan's 42nd minute point pulled Tyrone within one, Kerry went for nine-in-a-row in a 20-minute slow-kill to push their lead into double digits and secure an eighth All-Ireland final appearance on Jack's watch in the process.
Tyrone, forgotten about during this third quarter, went scoreless for 22 minutes.
'We got to grips around the middle, that was the big thing,' said Jack.
'No better man than this man here beside me [Gavin White], he won a lot of breaks. That was the thing that was killing us early on. There was a bit of a disconnect between Shane Ryan's kickouts and fellas getting to the pitch of the breaks. We spoke about that at half-time and that was a big factor in the second half.'
Jack's not wrong there regarding first-half restarts. Kerry lost five of their opening six. They'd lose two more before the half was out. Tyrone, by contrast, won six of their opening eight.
Those stats were flipped on their head in the second period.
'This was a more rounded performance because I thought that third-quarter spell against Armagh was a bit freakish, it was like they just couldn't get their kickout away and we kept the ball up that end of the field.
'I think this was a more rounded performance because Tyrone are very big around the middle of the field, Kennedy and Kilpatrick are big men, they have a lot of targets, and Morgan has a serious weapon of a kickout.
'The two boys, Mark O'Shea and Seán O'Brien, plugged away great for most of the game, and then Joe O'Connor finished up midfield. And what a game Joe had. Powerful game, he is getting better all the time.'
Joe, indeed, was back to his Munster semi-final best. The one black mark in the copybook was the third-quarter goal opening he blazed over. One of eight goal chances not converted.
'I know, I know,' replied Jack when this wastefulness was raised. 'Two or three at the back post that looked like tap-ins, it's disappointing because we prided ourselves throughout the league on scoring goals.
'At least we created the chances. Today we were creating goal chances, the last day we were creating two-point chances. I think it's a sign of the team that they recognised what's in front of them, and there was a bit more space inside this time, and they put the ball in and created those chances.
'Sure, look, of course we'd have had an easier afternoon if we'd converted a few of them.'
A satisfactory afternoon, nonetheless. The Armagh display no longer sits in isolation. Albeit late in the day, Kerry are finally putting together a body of impressive evidence in this championship.
'There was a lot of noise about our game against Armagh, which meant Tyrone were coming in under the radar. That showed early on. In the first 15 minutes, Tyrone were the better team. They settled quicker and had us in a lot of bother on breaking ball around the middle. As soon as we got to terms with that, I thought the game changed and David's goal settled us.
'This is a mature team. Most of the boys are of a good age. They are in their mid-to-late 20s. Mature lads, and I think that was a mature performance. We slowed it down when we had to and sped it up when we had to. We kicked the ball through the lines well today. Found David in one-on-one situations, and that is always good for us.'
Paul Geaney (shoulder), for the second game in succession, was an unused sub. Diarmuid O'Connor (shoulder), for the second game in succession, didn't tog. Tom O'Sullivan (calf) also sat this one out.
The bottom injury line from Jack was not to rule out any of the three for involvement in a fortnight.
'Paul, in an emergency, could have been put in today. We just would want to make sure he didn't have a reoccurrence of the injury. He'll certainly be available to play in the final.
'Tom is giving himself a big chance of being available. Whether that transpires or not I couldn't tell you. And Diarmuid is tipping away and hoping to get into the fray. He's done bits and pieces since the Cavan game. So, I wouldn't rule any of the three of them out now.'
Staying with the next fortnight, it is among Jack's favourite times of the year, if not his favourite.
'There is nothing like the two-week... it used to be three or four weeks to an All-Ireland final in the old days, but it'll be a great two weeks. There is always a great buzz around the county. Really looking forward to it now.'
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I don't think it was picked up too much in the media. "Beat Dublin here. I don't care what they say about Dublin, Dublin are still a hard team to beat here in Croke Park. "They would have come into this game with a lot of confidence and there was lot a noise about our game, which meant Tyrone were coming in under the radar. "I thought that showed early on. In the first 15 minutes, Tyrone were the better team. They settled quicker and had us in a lot of bother on breaking ball around the middle of the field. As soon as we got to terms with that, I thought the game changed and David's goal settled us." The display bore some similarities to the quarter-final, with Kerry killing the game with a burst of unanswered scores in the second half. Their surge was slightly less devastating and surreal than the Armagh blitz, with the unanswered haul of 0-09 being stretched out over a longer period and not being solely built on a wipeout of the opposition kickout. However, from O'Connor's perspective, this made it more satisfying, the Kerry boss reserving particular praise for Joe O'Connor, who took home the Man of the Match award. "It was a more rounded performance because I thought that spell against Armagh was a bit freakish. "It was like they just couldn't get their kickout away and we kept the ball up that end of the field. "I think this was a more-rounded performance because Tyrone are very big around the middle of the field, Kennedy and Kilpatrick are big men and they have a lot of targets, and Morgan has a serious weapon of a kickout. "The two boys (O'Shea and O'Brien) plugged away great for most of the game, and then Joe finished up midfield and what a game Joe had. "Powerful game, he is getting better all the time." It was a more rounded performance because I thought that spell against Armagh was a bit freakish One irritation was the amount of wasted goal chances. Kerry were by a distance the most prolific goalscorers in the league, hitting 17 across eight games including the final. Having made hay on two-pointers a fortnight ago, they created a remarkable volume of goal chances against Tyrone, squandering all of them bar David Clifford's brilliantly taken goal late in the first half. "I know, I know... two or three at the back post that looked like tap-ins," O'Connor sighed. "It's disappointing because we prided ourselves throughout the league on scoring goals. "At least we created the chances. Today we were creating goal chances, the last day we were creating two-pointer chances. "I think it's a sign of the team that they recognised what's in front of them, and there was a bit more space inside this time and they put the ball in and created those chances. "Sure, look, of course we'd have had an easier afternoon if we'd converted a few of them." It was a world away from 12 months ago, when Kerry were dumped out at the semi-final stage by Armagh. After the game, O'Connor, to the surprise of many, played up the impact of the enormous Armagh support, which dwarfed the Kerry crowd. During their alleged mini-crisis earlier in the summer, Kerry players had appealed to the supporters to come out to support the team. There has been a noticeable uptick since then. "I'm delighted that the supporters are getting behind the team. It was no secret that Armagh seriously outnumbered us at this stage last year. "I know I got stick for it at the time, but they were a factor in the game. I don't think anybody could dispute that. "But the Kerry supporters were a factor today, big time. The support travelled in huge numbers and long may it continue. "These boys are giving everything for the cause and they're playing good football. They deserve to be supported and we're delighted. "I don't have the language to describe it, but it's working both ways, you know? They're getting energy from the crowd, and the crowd are getting energy from the players. It's a good combination at the moment." As for the absent trio of Tom O'Sullivan, Diarmuid O'Connor and Paul Geaney, O'Connor sounded a relatively optimistic note about their prospects of making the final. "Paul, in an emergency could have been put in today, we just would want to make sure he didn't have a reoccurrence of the injury. I think he'll certainly be available to play in the final. Play some part in the final at least. "Tom is giving himself a big chance of being available. Whether that transpires or not I couldn't tell you, but he's giving himself a chance. "And Diarmuid is tipping away and hoping to get into the fray, he's done bits and pieces since the Cavan game.
