David Clifford hinted that in previous years Kerry may not have come out on the right side of their tense All-Ireland semi-final against Dublin.
Kerry won the game 1-14 to 1-13 thanks to a last minute free kick by Sean O'Shea. Kerry had led by five points at the break, but Dublin fought back - Cormac Costello's goal was key - and were level in the 75th minute before O'Shea intervened.
10 July 2022; Seán O'Shea of Kerry celebrates with team-mate David Clifford after scoring his side's first goal during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Daire Brennan/Sportsfile
"It was unbelievable," Clifford, scorer of six points in the game, told Sky Sports.
"We were disappointed we couldn't hold onto the lead that we had. Something we hadn't been able to do was come out on the right side of these games. When Seanie was standing over that free, I was pretty confident of him.
"That was one of the most pleasing things: In the past, maybe we've been guilty of lying down in those situations going into our shell a small bit. Thankfully, we didn't do that today.
"We have put a big emphasis this year on putting heat on teams coming out. We weren't as happy as we'd have like to be [with our performance] against Mayo. We let them come up the field a bit easy. It was slightly improved there, but we can go up another level."
Kerry will face Galway in the All-Ireland final on July 24th.
"We've all seen how good Galway have been this year, and how well they've been set up. It's another colossal challenge," said Clifford.
Seán O'Shea sends @Kerry_Official through to the All-Ireland final thanks to a last-gasp free. pic.twitter.com/0zcuRKtmaU
— The GAA (@officialgaa) July 10, 2022
See Also: Canavan Says Ref Right To Not Send Off Kerry's Sean O'Shea Vs Dublin
