Niall Morgan: The Tyrone goalkeeper’s greatest strength is his willingness to accept pressure. Converted two fantastic placed balls in the first half and pushed outfield to good effect. A couple of misplaced kicks but one of the undoubted leaders of this team. 7
Michael McKernan: Such a canny footballer. The Coalisland man has all the essential ingredients you need to be a top class defender – and he brought everything to the table against Kerry. Pushed Paul Geaney to the fringes and popped over a first-half point. 8
Ronan McNamee: An absolute warrior of a footballer. It’s a fact of life David Clifford will score against you, but the Tyrone full-back had some brilliant defensive moments and hit a peach of a point himself. Also shut out Tommy Walsh late on. 8
Padraig Hampsey: Just oozes authority. Fouled too readily a couple of times, but was inside Sean O’Shea’s shirt for the duration. 8
Frank Burns: More than made up for missing the Ulster final with his best game in a Tyrone jersey. Owned the right flank, stood up Kerry attackers on countless occasions and was the coolest man in Croke Park. 8.5
Kieran McGeary: If the Pomeroy man had brought his shooting boots, he’d have scored a perfect 10. Outstanding game. Won a heap of turnovers. Nobody executes the ugly aspects of the game better than McGeary. 8.5
Peter Harte: Unbelievable block to deny Killian Spillane a goal. Gave the perfect off-load that led to Tyrone’s first goal. Technically flawless and worked his socks off. 7.5
Brian Kennedy: He didn’t win a great deal of primary ball against the Kerry midfield but he won a couple of important turnovers and stuck manfully to his task. 6
Conn Kilpatrick: Like Kennedy, took a while to settle and his brave winning of the ball in the 28th minute settled him. Got through a mountain of work. 6.5
STAR MAN: Conor Meyler: Paudie Clifford will have nightmares about Conor Meyler. The Omagh man brought due diligence to another level. His ability to anticipate and track his opponent’s runs were exceptional. Fittest man on the field and also hurt Kerry with his driving runs down the middle of the pitch. Just awesome. 9
Michael O’Neill: A foot soldier who puts the team first. Got a crucial hand in on Sean O’Shea as he was about to pull the trigger and he enjoyed his 41st minute turnover on the same player. 6.5
Niall Sludden: There’s always one attacker who escapes the attentions of the opposition, and it was the Dromore man. Used the space he was afforded wisely and was involved in the first goal. Black card upset his and Tyrone’s rhythm. 7
Darren McCurry: Never got much change out of Tom O’Sullivan and his frustration yielded a costly black card. Never shirked responsibility, though, when the moment came to convert a score deep into stoppage-time. 6.5
Mattie Donnelly: Tyrone’s inside line struggled for in the early part of this semi-final. Donnelly was much more effective when he moved out the field and won some telling turnovers. Heavily involved in Tyrone’s second goal. 7
Conor McKenna: The right place at the right time and grabbed two majors. Coughed up a few possessions but for sheer doggedness he deserves immense credit. 7.5
Subs:
Cathal McShane: Strangely, his game hasn’t come together yet due to the long lay-off. Imagine what he’ll be like when it does. Brilliant impact from the bench and struck the fear of God into the Kerry defence. 8
Tiarnan McCann: Was in the wars when he entered for Michael O’Neill. 6
Darragh Canavan: Gives the Tyrone attack another dimension and caused the Kerry backs a fair bit of stress. 7
Ben McDonnell: Slotted into midfield and put himself about. 5.5
Liam Rafferty: Fought well for dirty ball. 6
Mark Bradley: Recycled the ball when Tyrone needed it most. 5.5
