Four things we learned...

No guts, no glory

There was so much spoken before this game about Kerry’s class, their skill and their most gifted players, that something integral to them was essentially overlooked – this Kerry team and these Kerry players have character and lots of it. Peter Keane referenced it post match – Kerry had to dig deep before, when they struck back at Cork in the Munster final having let a seven point lead slip. On Sunday they needed all that for titude to overcome a sterner challenge than everybody expected from the Tribesmen.

When Galway reduced the margin to two with eight minutes to go it was tempting to imagine that they would be the ones in the box-seat as they’d been through more close games than the Kingdom. It didn’t quite work out that way as Kerry dug deep within themselves to run out seven point winners.

Clifford has big game temperament

This wasn’t the all singing, all dancing performance many people expected from David Clifford before the game and it was all the more impressive because of that. This was a game where the Fossa man had to be patient, a game where he had to pick his moments.

The conditions were difficult and the ball didn’t always break his way, but he never ever let his head drop, he never let his frustration get the better of him. Instead he just got on with his job and did what had to be done.

He got one chance in the first half to decisively influence the outcome of the game and he took it – fielding from Dara Moynihan to set up David Shaw for a second goal in as many games. And then in the second half he took that goal of exquisite quality. Soloing off his left, striking off his right.

The hype around him probably does him no favours, but by the same token he doesn’t seem remotely affected by it.

Defence battens down the hatches

Another overlooked thing about this Kerry team was the quality of their defence. The same was probably the case for the two previous minor teams too. It says something about the quality of defender on those teams that the first of their number to make the step up to senior football – Brian Ó Beaglaoich – played at full-back for Jack O’Connor in 2014.

This year’s minor team had some seriously talented defenders at its disposal. David Naughten wasn’t far off man of the match at the weekend – we wouldn’t quibble with the selection of Dara Moynihan, however – and he was just one of many Kerry players to impress.

Daniel O’Brien has been the glue which bound that team together all season. He exudes a calm authority and always seems to be in the right place at the right time. It’s not a coincidence that Galway play-maker Evan Murphy was withdrawn from the fray with over quar ter of an hour to go.

Nor was it a coincidence that Kerry held Galway to just nine scores.

Much wants more

It was a bit of a recurring theme from the players in their post match interviews. You’d have thought that next year would have been the furthest thing from their minds at that moment and, yet, more than one of them referenced next year and not just those players who will be underage again next year.

There’s always an expectation of success in the Kingdom and these minor footballers understand that as well as anybody. The regularity with which they referenced it hints too that they see another potentially successful season on the horizon. Four starters from this year’s final are eligible again next year including star man David Clifford – goalscorer Diarmuid O’Connor, cornerforward Brian Friel and wing-back Michael Potts are the others.

Added to that there are an additional six panellists available to Peter Keane again next year – Fiachra Clifford, Cian Grammell, Chris O’Donoghue, Ryan O’Neill, Cian O’Callaghan and Niall Donohue. Watch this space.