The meeting between Kerry and Mayo this afternoon was a clash of two inter-county GAA heavyweights, although it's fair to say that only one of them turned up in the opening half.
Mayo looked like the most dangerous side right from the opening whistle, with Ryan O'Donoghue kicking the opening score of the game after three minutes.
Ryan O'Donoghue gets the opening score of the game for Mayo following an impressive save by Shane Ryan.
Watch the game live on https://t.co/C7FxP1q5Ku pic.twitter.com/2rlU9fsMLm— The GAA (@officialgaa) May 20, 2023
They would tack on a number of other excellent points in the first half, including this effort from Jack Carney.
Mayo increase their lead to three thanks to a superb point by Jack Carney.
Watch the game live on https://t.co/C7FxP1q5Ku pic.twitter.com/rpp48OzUey— The GAA (@officialgaa) May 20, 2023
Kevin McStay's side would lead 0-12 to 0-7 at the interval, a gap that would have been much larger were it not for some heroics from Kerry goalkeeper Shane Ryan.
Paddy Andrews tears in Kerry for first half Mayo performance
Speaking on GAAGO at halftime, former Dublin forward Paddy Andrews tore into Kerry over their lacklustre display in the opening 35 minutes.
Kerry surely expected Mayo to come out like an absolute train? They did that, there was a bit of the old Mayo thing with a bit of lack of a clinical edge up front, but to be fair they have kept at it.
Kerry have not been at the races all over the pitch. Their own kick-out, Mayo have kicked five scores from their kick-out. Mayo are running from deep and Kerry aren't getting a hand on them.
They're way, way, way off the pace off the ball, but also on the ball. We've seen so many uncharacteristic errors...
We've seen hand passes being dropped by the Kerry players. If there is one thing we associated with Kerry, it's that their ball skills would be of the highest order. They are a team that haven't got anywhere near the intensity of this game.
We spoke about that beforehand. What would Kerry be like, having been in third gear for pretty much the whole year? We got our answer there.
He didn't hold back there.
It certainly wasn't the standard you would expect to see from the defending All-Ireland champions.
SEE ALSO: How Pat Gilroy Changed Dublin After 2009 Humiliation Against Kerry
