Fitzmaurice:Kerry need to sustain top speed

In patches, they went close to full speed. That they didn’t maintain it was noted by Éamonn Fitzmaurice. Mind you, the Kerry manager could be accused of nitpicking here given his charges simply didn’t need to be at full throttle.

The five-in-a-row Munster champions opened both halves full of intent, landing four without reply in the opening four minutes, and then producing five unanswered points immediately upon the change of ends. Their second-half burst was particularly crucial given it propelled them 0-16 to 0-7 clear on the scoreboard.

“There were parts of the game that we played very well, but we didn’t sustain it. There were bursts when we played very well and then periods when we weren’t as accurate as we needed to be. We were giving away the ball and making incorrect decisions. But they are the areas that we will look to improve on.