All-Ireland SFC Final: It has to be said that as a spectacle this was a disappointing All-Ireland final. Kerry's superiority in every sector of the field and in every facet of the game was evident from early on and went beyond anyone's predictions, whereas Mayo's inability to deliver on any of their potential is very difficult to explain.
To begin with, though, I would have to give great credit to Kerry. Their skill level and commitment on the day was very impressive, starting with their ability to kick the ball 20 or 30 metres, and not just rely on the short fist-pass. Their pace and ability to play the game at a very high tempo were also outstanding. As well as that, their physical strength, displayed in both their tackling and ability to win the breaking ball, was far ahead of that shown by Mayo.
Having said that, I was amazed at how Mayo seemed to show Kerry so much respect. From the word go it was as if they were standing back to let Kerry play their own game, guilty of loose marking and poor tackling. They failed to close down the player in possession the way they needed to and I couldn't believe they were giving the Kerry inside forwards so much space to play with.
The amount of room between their half backs and full backs was far too great and Kerry took full advantage of it. It was a trend Mayo fell into early on yet allowed to continue practically throughout the whole game.
When it comes to an All-Ireland it's vital that you set out your stall early on and Kerry won that battle hands down. Mayo struggled to get a hold of the ball but, worse still, were very slow to close down the Kerry player on the ball which you just can't expect to get away with in an All-Ireland final.
Kerry's tactics were totally different to their opponents in the way they hassled and harried for every ball. This is exactly what Mayo needed to do and yet for some inexplicable reason they never did. Things were falling apart for them all over the field, and you could single many players out. But of course the way Aidan O'Mahony broke Ciarán McDonald's spirit had a huge influence on Mayo's game.
He's such an important player for them and one of their true leaders and it was inevitable that when his game disintegrated the way it did here then heads would drop around him.
In the second half, when Mayo badly needed points, McDonald had a series of misses and that finished them off. They'd managed to keep themselves in the game at half-time with their quick succession of goals but they just couldn't lift themselves any higher.
So much of winning an All-Ireland is about performing on the big day, and Kerry had players in abundance doing exactly that. It's a struggle to name one Mayo player who met that demand. That, of course, comes down to the quality of players at your disposal and I always felt Kerry had a far greater share of that quality.
Just take the Kerry forwards. Colm Cooper proved that his season has now fully turned, and Kieran Donaghy once again produced the goods. Together they made a big contribution.
Declan O'Sullivan was also outstanding at centre forward and the Kerry management deserve great credit for nurturing him back to form. After that you only have to talk about Séamus Moynihan, who following this performance is definitely assured of his place among the all-time greats of Kerry football.
Manager Jack O'Connor deserves great praise, too, for keeping things together the way he did. There is some talk about his future but it's obvious he has a lot more to offer, and who would want to succeed him now? He made a few hard calls in recent weeks but every one of them worked out. Tommy Griffin was under some pressure out there and he ended up outshining Darragh Ó Sé.
In the end, though, there can be no doubt now that Kerry are the best team in the country once again. The way Donaghy came in and provided the catalyst for the turnaround has provided one of the talking points, but I think their overall superiority here was clear for everyone to see. And that can only bode well for the Kingdom's footballing future.
