"It was disappointing the way it got away from us" - Tyrone boss O'Rourke

Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke ©INPHO/Ryan Byrne

Tyrone manager Malachy O’Rourke described his disappoint after yesterday’s All-Ireland senior football championship semi-final defeat at the hands of Kerry.

The Red Hands bowed in the race for the Sam Maguire Cup after losing out to the Munster champions on a 1-20 to 0-17 scoreline at Croke Park, where the Ulster side went scoreless for 22 minutes into the second-half as David Clifford and Co went about booking the Kingdom’s third final berth in four years.

Speaking to BBC Sport NI afterwards, O’Rourke lamented his team’s shooting efficiency after the change of ends, which he said “at times wasn't great”.

"It was disappointing the way it got away from us," the Tyrone boss stated. "At half-time we felt we were right in the game, the first half we played a lot of good football and did well on both kick-outs. The downside of that was we gave away possession cheaply through our own efforts unforced and then Kerry put us under pressure as well.

"And then we're caught a wee bit at the back. We left ourselves a bit bare at the back. We didn't give Paudie [Hampsey] enough cover at times and David Clifford in particular was very prominent. We were still in it at half-time."

O'Rourke added: "We got it back to a point but after that when we got possession, we weren't able to penetrate the Kerry defence.

"Our shooting efficiency and shot selection at times wasn't great and Kerry were very good in possession. They could have had a few more goals in fairness and they didn't give away much ball and were able to increase the lead."