Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice offered no excuses after his side lost their All-Ireland crown to Dublin at Croke Park.
The Kingdom went down by 0-12 to 0-09, but Dublin’s victory was much more emphatic than that scoreline suggested, a point that Fitzmaurice agreed with when he spoke afterwards to RTE Sport.
“We were barely hanging in there and any time we got close to them, they pulled away,” he said.
"They missed a couple of goal chances but we didn't really threaten them at all. Our lads never gave up but it would have been daylight robbery had we got out of it with a draw.”
The swagger that one associates Kerry was clearly absent this year. Fitzmaurice couldn’t really put his finger on why that was the case but was full of praise for the way Jim Gavin’s charges played.
“You have to take your hats off to Dublin in how they played for each other and how hard they fought" - Éamonn Fitzmaurice
“We underperformed and that can happen on big days even though it doesn’t happen to Kerry too often,” he added
“We thought this morning we were in a great position to win it even though we knew we had to be at our best to beat Dublin. We never performed to our best. I'm very proud of the lads and the way they've played throughout the year.
"We got back to an All-Ireland final after winning it last year which not too many teams do.
“You have to take your hats off to Dublin in how they played for each other and how hard they fought.
“They simply outworked us and played the game on their terms. They really tackled us high up the pitch and slowed us down, while at the same time got bodies back.”
As to whether the Lixnaw native will be stay at the helm for a fourth year, Fitzmaurice wasn’t giving much away.
“My term is up. I have three years done. A lot of us have a good bit of thinking and talking to do and we'll do that in time.”
