Tomás Ó Sé Identifies First-Half Failure That Doomed Armagh Against Kerry

Tomás Ó Sé believes Armagh's inability to turn possession into scores during the first half was the key factor behind their heavy defeat to Kerry on Saturday.

The Kingdom powered into the All-Ireland quarter-finals with an emphatic 4-18 to 0-17 victory in Killarney, ending Armagh's championship for the second successive season.

David Clifford was once again the star of the show, finishing with 1-10, while Dylan Geaney contributed 0-5. Joe O'Connor and Paul Geaney both found the net, before Keith Evans added a late fourth goal to put an exclamation mark on the result.

Kerry were also boosted by the return of Sean O'Shea and Gavin White from injury, giving Jack O'Connor's side even greater strength as they moved into Monday's quarter-final draw.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio One afterwards, Ó Sé felt the game was effectively decided by Armagh's struggles in front of goal during the opening half.

When you look at the possession Armagh had in that first half, they did not make any impact at all on the scoreboard.

They'll look back at that.

They did as well as they could in that first half.

They just could not score.

Despite trailing by only six points at the break, Ó Sé felt Armagh had missed a major opportunity.

Kerry led 2-8 to 0-8 at half-time, with David Clifford's first-half goal helping establish control before Paul Geaney struck a devastating blow on the stroke of the interval.

With Ethan Rafferty caught upfield, Kerry pounced to score a second goal just before the hooter, stretching their advantage and taking significant momentum into the dressing room.

Any lingering hopes of an Armagh comeback were extinguished shortly after the restart.

Joe O'Connor's superbly-taken goal pushed Kerry 3-11 to 0-9 ahead and from there the hosts never looked back.

Ó Sé also pointed to the cruel contrast between Armagh's situation now and where they almost found themselves just seven days ago.

McGeeney's side appeared destined for a direct route into the quarter-finals before Sam Mulroy's dramatic late winner for Louth in Inniskeen changed the course of their championship.

When you look at it, it has been a very successful year for Armagh.

The fact that they won an Ulster that they craved for so long.

But when you look back at the last seven days, my gosh, how close they were to being out the gap against Louth.

They would have had a weekend off and that confidence and that thin line of success and loss and now to come down here and take the pumping.

While the final scoreline was emphatic, Ó Sé was keen to stress that Armagh are better than they showed in Fitzgerald Stadium.

They are not as bad a team as they were here.

They've had so many turnovers in terms of players and personnel in the last two years.

It is a difficult one because I know how much respect McGeeney has for Kerry and he always likes to do well, especially when they travel here.

But today comprehensively beaten.

For Kerry, the focus now turns to Monday's quarter-final draw, where they will face either Galway, Louth or Tyrone.

Armagh, meanwhile, are left wondering how differently things might have looked had they managed to turn their first-half possession into scores, or had one late shot from Sam Mulroy last weekend not found its way into the net.