Tony Leen: Kerry end Armagh’s summer - and mercilessly. Here are the five key takeaways

Geaney's clock smarts, Donegal's helping hand, beware Galway and no albatrosses in Kerry

SHOWING THEIR TEETH: Kerry talisman David Clifford shows his delight after grabbing their opening goal at a key first half juncture against Armagh at Fitzgerald Stadium. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Nobody wants to hear about luck: A dime for every time a manager insists the difference between the top sides could be measured in a thimble. Yes ultimately Kerry feasted on the Orchard county and Kieran McGeeney wasn’t looking for fortune’s favour after Armagh’s summer ended on Saturday. Nor should he when they converted ten of their 25 shots from open play. But after the misfortune suffered in the last second in Inniskeen sent them on the long road to Kerry, the short turnaround was a problem on more than one level. Neutral fixtures in the third round is a distinct possibility in 2027. Armagh had that look of an anaesthetist in the first half and even allowing for a well worked Kerry goal, the visitors would have been pleased to be counting down the clock to half time only three points in arrears. Then an untidy hand pass down around Joe McElroy's ankles gave Kerry the out they needed for Paul Geaney’s goal (assisted by a no-fuss dink pass from Graham O'Sullivan, by the by). Kerry followed with a two-pointer before they jogged in for half time. Geezer must have wondered where all the black cats in his life had come from?

Geaney’s clock smarts: He couldn’t, could he? There’s no way Paul Geaney knew there were literally seconds in the first half remaining when the ball broke to him. How could he? Given his well-advertised game awareness, he was undoubtedly aware that Ethan Rafferty was AWOL but did Geaney really have the awareness to kick the ball immediately rather than advance a few metres to make sure - and run out of time? Too right he did. Geaney knew too well that the time bomb would have gone off in his hands if he had kept hold of the ball for 3-4 more seconds. How do we know? “The same man would be very, very clued in on the rules,” came a text from the Kerry camp Saturday night. The Irish basketball coach James Weldon told Kieran Shannon in an Irish Examiner interview late last year: “Paul is like Kobe Bryant with his mindset, how deep a thinker he is about the game.” He’s also got that Harry Kane vibe going. It’s easier to believe the England captain when he speak about being in the shape of his life, when you watch a razor sharp Geaney doing his thing at 35.