Kerry stick to their guns
But, not for the first time, they showed great resilience when confronted with a serious challenge, gaining renewed confidence from an early scoring burst which yielded three points in almost as many minutes.
Ultimately, they had the finishing power to overcome a spirited Limerick recovery and win with two late points to qualify for the final for the first time since they beat Cork in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 1997. Taking the campaign as a whole, it marked a significant achievement for the new management and the players.