Jack O’Connor: 'They had more energy than us, more legs, more hunger'

"It is very disappointing,” the Kerry boss said after the defeat to Mayo.

RESPECT: Mayo's manager Andy Moran and Kerry's manager Jack O'Connor after the match. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

They were caught in a chaotic storm. For Kerry manager Jack O’Connor, Mayo’s energy is what swung the final.

Mayo scored a remarkable 1-8 from turnovers as their ferocious tackling gave the defending champions huge problems throughout. Over and over, they pressed high and hunted hard.

"It is very disappointing,” said O’Connor in his post-match press conference.

“Obviously it wasn't the ending we envisaged after a tough enough year. But you have to take your hat off to Mayo. I thought they had more energy than us, more legs, more hunger, even though we fought to the end and could have snatched maybe a draw and taken it to extra-time. One or two passes went astray there near the end. I just thought that on balance, Mayo were better than us on the day."

David Clifford scored 1-6 of their 1-20 total. He was immense. The post-mortem will now begin to determine why other players struggled to reach the required pitch.

"Sure, that is the 50 million dollar question. I just thought on breaking ball and stuff that it showed at times. It possibly goes back to some of the stuff I was talking about in the last few weeks, that we have had men that have had long periods out of football this year.

“Gavin White was out of football for six months. Seánie (O’Shea) was out of football for ten weeks. Joe, eight weeks. Brian Ó Beaglaioch had a stop-start kind of a season. Paudie Clifford, the same – he missed a good chunk of the league. On All-Ireland final day, coming up against a hungry, energetic Mayo team, I feel myself that was a factor."

Diarmuid O’Connor was removed from the panel before throw-in due to a hamstring injury suffered earlier in the week.

“Diarmuid was obviously a loss. He was a big part of our game-plan on kick-outs and stuff like that, with his size out in the 12 pocket. But that is why we have a panel. We had to deal with it. It upset us a bit, to be frank about it. It upset us a bit. But not making excuses now."

Ultimately, they were beaten by an awesome outfit. Like Armagh or Tyrone against the same county previously, Mayo arrived in Croke Park with pure grit.

“They appeared to have more energy on the field. That maybe hunger, it might be the fact that we had a few men who were slightly under-cooked from maybe the length of time they were out with injuries. Hunger is a great driver.

“But there was no reason why our men shouldn't have been hungry. We have an ambitious team that want to win more All-Irelands. We felt we were hungry as well. There was nothing wrong with our hunger against Tyrone and Dublin out here. But no qualms, no excuses, Mayo were better than us today."