"Fellas just stood up. It was exhilarating to watch. We had guys who weren't just going to lose. This team, over four years, has just kept going all the time. What they showed today, you cannot but admire."

"I think it's bizarre. 5pm playing in Limerick doesn't make any sense, but we will play wherever. Once we are on a football field we are on a football field, but it doesn't make any sense."

James Horan was proud of his players' heroic efforts and wasn't impressed with the decision to fix the replay for Limerick.

"We were lucky in the end, we know that. It was really a case of snatching a draw from the jaws of defeat. We sat off them, we sat back, which wasn't something we planned to do."

"It's an unusual one alright. At this stage of the summer we love coming to Croke Park. We love playing in Croke Park. The players love coming up here. Even small things like logistical issues now: will we go the night before? We never go the night before to Limerick [so] we probably won't. A 5pm game is something that is slightly different so it will probably have a bit of an unusual feel to it."

Horan's Kerry's counterpart Eamonn Fitzmaurice was a relieved man at the final whistle and also had his say on the replay arrangements.

"No player dreams of playing an All-Ireland [semi] final down in Limerick and that's no disrespect to Limerick because it's a fine ground but they deserve to play up in Croke Park, at our headquarters, on the best surface in the country with the best facilities."

The players of Mayo and Kerry are losing out according to Sunday Game analyst Dermot Earley.

"I didn't even look at the Munster championship,. It was of no relevance to me unless we got to the All-Ireland final. At the end of the day, you can over analyse things too. You have to go out and hurl. That's what we're looking to do."

Wexford U-21 hurling boss JJ Doyle will now turn his attention to final opponents Clare.

"It's not ideal preparation heading into an All-Ireland final. We were expecting a tougher test, based on what we had been hearing during the course of the last two months. Ultimately, once the first goal went in, and when we went four or five points up and the sweeper system wasn't working for them, that was really game over after about 10 or 15 minutes."

Banner County joint-manager Gerry O'Connor admitted his troops could have done with a sterner test against Antrim.

"The medical advice was that there wasn't any significant damage done and that it could be something he could run off."

Mayo minor manager Enda Gilvarry explained why visibly injured captain Cian Hanley wasn't withdrawn earlier than the 24th minute in their semi-final defeat to Kerry.

"We settled them down at half-time and we played much more controlled football in the second half. I found it very frustrating because I thought we were the better team in both halves and it wasn't being reflected on the scoreboard."

Kerry qualified for a first All-Ireland MFC final since 2006 but boss Jack O'Connor said they have plenty to work on.

"It means a lot, it's extra special now, having gone one past Ger Cunningham's record. It always means a lot to come up here and participate, but to win it certainly makes it really special."

Tipperary's Brendan Cummins claimed a record eighth M Donnelly All-Ireland Poc Fada title in Louth yesterday.

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