Kerry power into final as Tyrone challenge fizzles out

Kerry powered their way into an All-Ireland SFC decider thanks to a dominant second-half display, Tyrone's challenge fizzling out badly after a bright opening.

David Clifford racked up 1-09 but the game's most influential figure was undoubtedly Joe O'Connor, who delivered an extraordinary, all-action display both defensively and in attack.

Only leading by three at half-time having played with the wind, Jack O'Connor's side kicked for home in a dominant second half display, racking up 0-09 without reply to kill the game and book their place in a third All-Ireland final in four years.

The build-up was dominated by the aftermath of Kerry's demolition of Armagh in the quarter-final, which had seen morph from a team in supposed crisis to All-Ireland favourites in the course of an afternoon.

Tyrone, the consensus went, had made it this far without pulling up any trees. Aside from inflicting a rare defeat on Donegal in Ballybofey, their performances hadn't suggested a marked improvement in previous campaigns. The seven-point win over Dublin in the quarter-final owed more to their opponents' unnatural profligacy in front of goal and even then the margin flattered them.

However, it was a fixture which sparked trepidation among Kerry supporters and Tyrone have long had a penchant for delivering Croke Park ambushes.

It all started so brightly for Tyrone. Playing into the wind in the first half, they led 0-05 to 0-02 after 14 minutes, putting immense pressure on Kerry's kickout and hoovering up the breaks.

Ciaran Daly swung over two of those early scores, with centre-back Kieran McGeary clipping over another after working a one-two. Under-20 star pupil Eoin McElholm, a late addition to the starting line-up in place of Peter Harte, slotted Tyrone's fifth of the day.

They had an early sniff of a goal chance, Darren McCurry aiming an overly ambitious side-footed shot towards the top corner which was comfortably parried by Shane Ryan.

Kerry were snatching at what chances they did get, David Clifford and Seanie O'Shea dropping efforts into Niall Morgan's hands.

It took 13 minutes for their first score from play, Dylan Geaney drilling a long pass into David Clifford's clutches and racing forward to collect the return pass before slotting the point.

Clifford was into the swing of things soon and he levelled the game with a point and two-pointer in quick succession, the first after speeding past Pádraig Hampsey on the outside.

The subsequent two-pointer saw him dive to gather a bouncing ball, spring to his feet despite close marking and then make the space to curl over a glorious score.

Clifford edged Kerry in front for the first time in 20 minutes after McGeary bundled over O'Connor as the midfielder fired a shot goalwards. Tyrone were still in a strong position, however, working a couple of points for Mattie Donnelly and Darragh Canavan - the former a goal chances which was blasted too high.

Kerry had been burying goals at an enormous rate in 2025, David Clifford hitting a hat-trick in the league game between the sides in Pomeroy. Armagh were uber-conscious of this threat in the quarter-final and wound up allowing Sean O'Shea to make hay with two-point shots.

Tyrone took a different tack and Kerry were snuffed out on the arc but the Munster champions proceeded to work an incredible volume of goal chances across the 70 minutes, all bar one of which were squandered.

That one arrived just before the half-hour mark.

It started with Gavin White winning a loose ball from Mattie Donnelly's deflected shot in front of Hill 16. Mike Breen strolled up the left, fed a looping pass for David Clifford. Clifford won it between two Tyrone defenders, sent Morgan to the floor with a dummy bounce and coolly slipped a low shot inside the right post.

In a sign of what was to come in the second half, they almost had another a minute later. Brian Ó Beaglaíoch fed an unmarked Sean O'Brien. The midfielder opted to catch and kick rather than palm it and Morgan dived at his feet, smothering the shot.

Tyrone made it a one-score game at the break, waiting for Croke Park's deafeningly loud hooter - which sounds like a nuclear warning siren - to blare before Donnelly curled over his second of the game.

The underdogs were still in a healthy position at that stage, with the wind at their backs in the second half and the prospect of two-pointers arriving more freely. The crowd had barely realised the game had re-started when McGeary cantered through the middle of the Kerry defence to lay on a score for Canavan.

The Errigal Ciaran marksman curled over Tyrone's opening two-pointer to make it a one-point game, after being afforded too much space on the edge of the arc.

He then responded to Paudie Clifford's opening score of the game to bring his second half haul to 0-04 just seven minutes after the restart.

And then there was nothing for Tyrone for another 22 minutes.

Kerry, with the orange-booted O'Connor to the fore, took a stranglehold around the middle. They registered 0-14 unanswered during that now famous second half burst against Armagh.

This time, they racked up 0-09 without reply, which was comfortably enough to kill the contest. Tyrone were blessed there wasn't a couple of goals thrown in, as Kerry butchered or blazed over a host of chances, a detail which left Jack O'Connor agitated on the sideline.

David Clifford kick-started the spell to make it a two-point game, with the marauding O'Connor powering through the Tyrone defence to notch two points in succession, both of which could have been goals.

Killian Spillane was introduced on 47 minutes and had two points on the board before long as Kerry stretched away.

The Clifford brothers added further points while Sean O'Shea, considerably quieter than the last day, landed his first from play with just over 10 minutes remaining.

What attacks Tyrone did mount during this dismal spell ended in missed shots or turnovers.

With 10 minutes left, Canavan remained their only scorer in the second half. McElholm, Peter Harte and Michael McKernan all missed simple chances for scores, with Mark Bradley pulling a two-point attempt wide of the near post.

On 62 minutes, they manufactured a free just inside the arc only for Joe McQuillan's attention to be drawn to a three-up breach. David Clifford tapped over the score to make it a 10-point game and the result was long beyond doubt.

Tyrone did make a burst for scoreboard respectability, Seanie O'Donnell finally becoming the first player outside of the elder Canavan to raise a white flag in the second half.

Ruairí Canavan lobbed over a two-pointer from underneath the Hogan Stand and Mark Bradley drove a goal-attempt over the crossbar.

But the drama was minimal at that stage, Tyrone's 11th-hour salvo coming far, far too late to save the game.

Kerry: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Dylan Casey; Brian Ó Beaglaoich, Mike Breen, Gavin White (c); Sean O'Brien, Joe O'Connor (0-02); Mark O'Shea, Seán O'Shea (0-03, 2f), Graham O'Sullivan (0-01); David Clifford (1-09, 1tp 4f), Paudie Clifford (0-02), Dylan Geaney (0-01)

Subs: Killian Spillane (0-02) for Dylan Geaney (47), Evan Looney for Casey (58), Tadhg Morley for Breen (61), Micheál Burns for O'Brien (61), Tony Brosnan for Paudie Clifford (64)

Tyrone: Niall Morgan; Cormac Quinn, Padraig Hampsey, Niall Devlin; Peter Teague, Ben McDonnell, Kieran McGeary (0-01); Brian Kennedy, Conn Kilpatrick; Seanie O'Donnell (0-02), Eoin McElholm (0-01), Ciarán Daly (0-02); Darren McCurry, Mattie Donnelly (0-02), Darragh Canavan (0-07, 1tp, 1f) .

Subs: Michael McKernan for McDonnell (47), Mark Bradley for McCurry (47), Peter Harte for Daly (52), Ruairí Canavan (0-02, 1tp) for McElholm (55), Michael O'Neill for O'Donnell (66)