Goals shift momentum and win games, but Jack O'Connor felt Paddy Small's second-half major at the Hill-end was a particularly pivotal moment in Dublin's All-Ireland final success over his Kerry side.
Small's goal 10 minutes after the restart drew the sides level and revitalised the Metropolitans and their fans, and while the Kingdom went on to forge a three-point lead in reply to the setback, O'Connor opined that the effort in doing so left an indelible mark.
"I'm disappointed," the Kerry boss told RTÉ Sport in the wake of Dublin's 1-15 to 1-13 victory.
"We were well in that game and I thought at stages in the second half we were almost in control of the game.
"Obviously, the goal was a huge turning point and while we came back well, after the goal I just thought the effort to come back and go back up three probably took its toll in the last 10 minutes.
"But I'm very proud of the lads, they gave everything out there.
"It was a fierce battle, probably Dublin's extra bit of experience got them over the line in the end."
Manager Jack O'Connor analyses where Kerry lost the All-Ireland final, pointing to the gifted goal for Dublin, their extra experience and missed chances in the second half. #sundaygame pic.twitter.com/z3kvEB6vC7
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 30, 2023
A slippery surface and referee David Gough's laissez-faire approach allowed for a physical game, and one played at a frenetic tempo.
"Conditions were tough and David was reffing it on the margins, really," O'Connor said.
"He was allowing a lot of contact and that obviously made for a great game and an exciting game, but we couldn't fault any fellas, we really, really emptied the tank there.
"Coming towards the end, there were fellas getting diving blocks and turnovers, but my initial feeling is that we left chances after us that maybe on another day would have gone over."
Returning to the concession of the goal, a score that the Dromid Pearses clubman may ruminate over for some time, he added: "You can't understate the importance of the goal because it was at a time when I thought we were in control of the game, we were three points up, I thought we were playing the game within ourselves, but that goal gave... the last thing you want to do when Dublin are playing into the Hill is give them a goal.
"It just lifted the crowd and it lifted the energy levels that the Dublin boys had, even though we came back and showed tremendous bravery."
