Ciarán Whelan said the two late frees that allowed Kerry to draw level against Derry were "momentum changers" which put the Kingdom on course for a dramatic late victory.
Kerry were awarded two frees during the closing stages of Sunday's All-Ireland semi-final, which resulted in them levelling proceedings at 1-14 apiece with two minutes remaining.
First, Gareth McKinless was adjudged to have fouled Stephen O’Brien, with Seán O’Shea converting the close-range free to end a 17-minute scoreless period for Kerry.
Less than a minute later, Chrissy McKaigue’s tug on David Clifford allowed the Kerry talisman to draw his side level, and Kerry pushed on with a further three unanswered points to book an All-Ireland date with Dublin.
.@whelo35 on 'momentum breakers', @tomas5ky on the 'off-the-ball stuff' as Kerry edged Derry #rtegaa #sundaygame pic.twitter.com/TNprNI2NfA
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 16, 2023
"Clifford gets inside and Chrissy McKaigue pulls at his arm, and the Stephen O’Brien one, they were just momentum-breakers," Whelan told The Sunday Game.
"Derry can look back and say they had 14 chances and got three points [in the second half] so they still can look at the other end of the field.
"They had Kerry on the ropes, they were waiting to be knocked out. We thought they were gone but there were a couple of crucial calls that probably gave Kerry a little bit of momentum going into that last period.
"They pushed up and showed resilience and character, and they had leaders in those last five minutes to close it out."
I think you could argue that the best team lost' @tomas5ky on what might have been for @derrygaa #rtegaa #sundaygame pic.twitter.com/DCKs78dUfy
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 16, 2023
Whelan described Derry's performance as "heroic". The Ulster champions deservedly led by three points at the interval, having scored 1-11 in the first half with all but one point coming from play. But they lost their way up front after the restart as Kerry roared back into the contest.
Shane McGuigan top-scored for Derry with 0-06 but Whelan was unhappy with some of the heavy-handed treatment dished out to the Derry full-forward, and also to his opposite number Clifford.
"We have a duty to protect our really good players," said Whelan. "Shane McGuigan and David Clifford are two top players at the moment and they took a lot of stick off the ball. They were targeted.
"That’s the nature of this game, it’s been going on for years, but there’s linesmen and umpires there. Just give them a little bit of extra protection because they do deserve it. they’re top-class players for a reason. They’re going to draw attention."
"There were desperate battles going on," added Tomás Ó Sé. "There was an awful lot of off-the-ball stuff on both sides from an early stage.
"It's very difficult, you always look at umpires in that situation. Clifford and McGuigan are class, they wouldn’t complain."
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