SILVER LINING FOR KINGDOM

Kerry run the show in Croker to land Sam once again

- BY PAT NOLAN

NOT the vintage final to round out a memorable football Championship, but plenty of landmarks all the same.

There may not have been any ebb and flow as Kerry took the lead after 11 seconds and, bar a period of a minute or so after Donegal equalised, never relinquished it before going on to win handsomely in the en.

But the new rules meant there was still plenty to savour, if not from a Donegal perspective. Kerry's winning tally of 1-26 was the biggest posted in an All-Ireland ever.

Donegal's total of 0-19 has only been matched twice (Mayo's 1-16 in 2017 and Galway's 2-13, over 80 minutes, in 1973) by a losing team in a final and never bettered.

With that, it's hardly a surprise this was the highest-scoring ever All-Ireland final with an aggregate of 48 points, three more than that 1973 final in which Cork beat Galway, the only one that comes close.

It was 21 points more than what was scored in last year's Armagh-Galway final, a turgid affair that was low on entertainment despite it being a far closer game than this one.

Admittedly, the closing stages of this Championship have been disappointing in that the final and both semifinals were rather one-sided but, at this remove, you could argue that there is more to be said for a runaway victory under the new rules than a closely-fought game under the old.

Much of the pregame debate surrounded David Clifford and whether Donegal could limit his influence to manageable proportions.