'Kerry loss shows the level Tyrone must reach'

Malachy O'Rourke (right) said Tyrone gave away the ball "cheaply" at times

Manager Malachy O'Rourke lamented Tyrone's carelessness in possession and profligacy in attack after they were outgunned by Kerry in Saturday's All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park.

Having beaten Dublin in the last eight, Tyrone returned to the GAA's headquarters hoping to take the scalp of another All-Ireland contender.

And while they trailed by just a point seven minutes into the second half, Kerry - like they did against Armagh in the quarter-finals - caught fire and struck nine unanswered points on their way to a comfortable 1-20 to 0-17 win.

"It was disappointing the way it got away from us," admitted O'Rourke.

"At half-time we felt we were right in the game, the first half we played a lot of good football and did well on both kick-outs. The downside of that was we gave away possession cheaply through our own efforts unforced and then Kerry put us under pressure as well.

"And then we're caught a wee bit at the back. We left ourselves a bit bare at the back. We didn't give Paudie [Hampsey] enough cover at times and David Clifford in particular was very prominent. We were still in it at half-time."

O'Rourke added: "We got it back to a point but after that when we got possession we weren't able to penetrate the Kerry defence.

"Our shooting efficiency and shot selection at times wasn't great and Kerry were very good in possession. They could have had a few more goals in fairness and they didn't give away much ball and were able to increase the lead."

Defeat brings the curtain down on O'Rourke's first year in charge of Tyrone.

He led Monaghan to two Ulster titles and Glen to an All-Ireland Club triumph, and while there were no trophies for the Red Hands in 2025, he says he "will take a lot of positives" out of his first championship after returning to inter-county management.

"We've had four championship victories. We went to Ballybofey and won [against Donegal] and beat Dublin in Croke Park, and the boys have put a lot of effort in and we have improved.

"To get into the last four you're going to be playing the top teams and Kerry are one of the top teams, so any weaknesses you have will be exposed than in the other games.

"There's been a lot of positives but a game like that shows the level you have to get to if you want to be challenging for the top honours and that's what we'll learn from today."

O'Rourke added that there has been "no talk" of retirements yet among the more experienced members of his panel.

"I would love that they would be there to help guide [the younger players]," he said.

"There's a big vacuum there between under-20s and senior and it's a big gap, it just doesn't happen overnight. It's not just a case of people stepping up, there's a lot of work to be done and there's a big transition to be made.

"The more experienced players that are about to guide them, so much the better."

O'Connor pleased with 'mature' display

While O'Rourke must wait until 2026 for another chance at landing the Sam Maguire, Jack O'Connor is one win away from collecting his fifth across three spells as Kerry boss.

Having last won the title in 2022, the Kingdom will face the winners of Sunday's semi-final between Donegal and Meath in the 27 July decider.

O'Connor used his post-match press conference to hit out at Kerry critics after beating Armagh, but on Saturday he was inclined to focus his remarks on his side's performance, which he described as "mature".

"We slowed it down and sped it up when we had to," said O'Connor.

"We kicked the ball through the lines well today. Found David and got one-on-one situations and that's always good for us."

O'Connor added that "getting to grips" with the middle of the field was crucial to his side's success after they initially struggled to contend with the aerial prowess of Tyrone midfielders Conn Kilpatrick and Brian Kennedy at kick-out time.

He also described the performance as "more rounded" than that of two weeks ago, when his side hit 14 scores without to reply to crush Armagh.

"It was a more rounded performance [than against Armagh].

"The Armagh game was a bit freakish in that they just couldn't get their kick-out away but this was a more rounded performance because Tyrone are very big around the middle of the field."