Anthony Maher says Kerry were determined not to finish on the losing side of another epic contest in Limerick on Saturday evening.

The Kingdom have lost more than their fair share of thrilling contests in recent seasons and their brilliant midfielder admits that they were hellbent on reversing that trend:

"It was something we mentioned, that after being beaten by Dublin last year we didn't want to be losing another classic," he tells The Irish Independent. "It's good to come out the right side of it on that count.

"There have probably been flashes throughout the year, but we haven't done it consistently. Even against Mayo there were times when we should have closed out the game better and we let them back into it.

"We are still a work in progress but it's good to see some progress. Eamonn [Fitzmaurice] always tell us that it's within the group and we all know it's within the group. But it's good to see it for real now.

"We mentioned it during the week that if we could get over this game it would be far better preparation for the final. It's definitely a lot easier than going into Fitzgerald Stadium quickly after this game and trying to rev ourselves up for an A v B game two out.

"It's good that we have the three weeks. It's not too long and it's not too short either. It's the perfect run-in."

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