Tyrone Man of the Match Kieran McGeary sounded a note of defiance as he lauded his side's efforts in reaching the All-Ireland SFC final.

The Red Hand County overcame Kerry 3-14 to 0-22 after extra time in their delayed semi-final at Croke Park to book their place in the decider against Mayo on 11 September.

The semi was pushed back due to Covid-19 issues which impacted the Tyrone camp and in the wake of overcoming that setback and then a talented Kerry side, McGeary told RTÉ Sport that reaching the final was reward for persevering.

"I'm full of emotion, the boys are full of emotion. During the week we took a lot of stress," he said.

"They said that we wouldn't, they said that we couldn't. I tell you what, we did.

"It's been a tough few weeks. Only those on the inside understand how tough it was but this is not just about the boys here today. Or backroom team are exceptional, second to none, and any one of them could lift that (Man of the Match) award for what they've done over the past couple of weeks."

He quipped to fans in reference to the final against Mayo to come, "Tyrone supporters, see you in two weeks time".

Joint-manager Brian Dooher, who won All-Irelands as a player, said that the victory over Kerry was "definitely up there" in his list of achievements.

"It was nip and tuck there for a long time but the boys dug deep and kept chipping away and I think they got their just rewards," he said.

"We had a lot of boys cramping (in extra time) but somehow, I don't know how they done it, they done it and hats off to them. They put in a memorable shift and at the same time it was just enough to get us over the line.

Dooher admitted Tyrone "struggled in the first half" and "couldn't get the ball to stick inside".

But he added that keeping hold of the ball more paid dividends as they turned the contest in their favour.

"We made a lot of mistakes in the first half but thankfully you know there are going to be mistakes," he said.

"Boys are trying hard and trying to do the best they can. It mightn't have been the perfect performance but it wasn't bad."