Once more with feeling, Dublin figure out the Kerry question

For all of Kerry’s frustration - and much of it must be with themselves - the scale of Dublin’s resilience is truly a thing of wonder.

It was a word used about them by Eamonn Fitzmaurice yesterday and it’s as good as most to provide a picture of the irresistible insistence they compete with every minute and with every fibre. Dublin teams, back to Joe McNally and Barney Rock and Bernard Brogan, in that epic semi-final of 1977, all had momentum. But that was fleeting. This is constant, relentless.

Perhaps Kerry are struggling against Father Time now in these 78-80 minute titanic games, but they were five points ahead of the All-Ireland champions at half-time, and three in front with nine minutes remaining in a seismic semi-final at Croke Park. Their legs didn’t look to be deserting them as Fitzmaurice and company rang the changes - Paul Geaney’s withdrawal more mysterious than the others - but at no moment did anyone think, or the Kingdom believe, they were out the gap and readying for a final with Mayo.