Kerry became the latest team to discover just how difficult it is to put All-Ireland football titles back-to-back when they fell at the final hurdle to a battle-hardened Tyrone team. While disappointed to finish the year empty-handed, All-Star goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy expects the Kingdom to bounce back in 2006. Kerry's bid to become the first team since Cork in 1990 to retain the Sam Maguire Cup was dashed when they succumbed to Tyrone in one of the greatest All-Ireland finals of all time. The defeat was a bitter pill for the Kingdom to swallow, especially in light of their recent poor record against Ulster opposition. By coincidence, Tyrone also put paid to Kerry's hopes of retaining the National League title earlier in the year when a late Mark Harte point saw the Red Hands squeeze them out for a semi-final place on scoring difference. "Compared to 2004, it was a disappointing year but we can't have any real complaints," says Kerry 'keeper Diarmuid Murphy. "We had a smooth enough passage to the All-Ireland final and maybe that counted against us bearing in mind that Tyrone had played all the tough matches. But even allowing for this, we were still very disappointed with our performance. We didn't perform on the day and it's something we'll have to learn from." The big Dingle man, who capped a dream debut season in 2004 by winning an All-Star award, admits that there is a growing sense of frustration in the Kingdom at the county's failure to beat either Tyrone or Armagh in the championship since 2002. "It doesn't bother me personally, but being the proud football that it is, there are a lot of people in Kerry who aren't happy about our recent record against the Ulster teams. It's true to say that Armagh and Tyrone have had the upper hand on us since 2002, and the Kerry team has got a lot of stick as a result. "But I don't think there is much to separate ourselves, Tyrone and Armagh. Armagh only beat Kerry by a point in the 2002 All-Ireland final and this year's final was in the balance until the very end." Murphy believes Kerry were as strong and as well prepared as in 2004, despite rarely managing to hit top gear at any stage this year. "Even though we hadn't played for the full 70 minutes in any of our games, we were fairly happy with our form coming up to the All-Ireland final. In most of our games, we were just doing enough to win and that's usually the sign of a good team. "The competition for places was as fierce as ever and I don't think that we were any better or worse than last year. It was more a case of Tyrone raising the bar and they were that bit better than everyone else this year." In contrast to Tyrone who played nine matches en route to the final, Kerry played just five. They easily accounted for Tipperary in the first round of the Munster championship, but found Limerick a much tougher nut to crack in the semi-final. Despite the tonic of a first minute goal from 'Gooch' Cooper, the Kingdom found themselves trailing 1-1 to 0-7 at the interval. When Limerick extended their advantage after the restart, the reigning All-Ireland champions looked to be in trouble but four points from Cooper and a typically cheeky second goal from the same player turned the game on its head and Kerry eventually ran out winners by six points. Billy Morgan's new-look Cork team threatened to cause an upset in the provincial decider at Pairc Ui Chaoimh, leading by 0-8 to 0-7 after a frenetic opening period in the blistering heat. But a Declan O'Sullivan goal in the 42nd minute finally tipped the scales in Kerry's favour and, even though Cork never gave up, the visitors prevailed on a 1-11 to 0-11 scoreline. Against Mayo in the All-Ireland quarter-final, Kerry looked like running away with victory after Darragh O Se found the net early in the second half. But a failure to score after the 58th minute left the door open for a Mayo comeback and a goal was all that separated the sides at the finish. Jack O'Connor's charges renewed acquaintances with Cork in the All-Ireland semi-final. Having produced an impressive showing against Galway in the quarter-final, the Rebels were expected to test Kerry's metal to the limit. But in what was their most complete performance of the championship, the Kingdom swept to an emphatic 1-19 to 0-9 victory with 11 different players getting on the scoresheet, including full backs Michael McCarthy and Aidan O'Mahony. Despite falling behind to early points from James Masters and Philip Clifford, the Munster champions effortlessly reeled off eight points without reply by the 25th minute to take a firm grip on proceedings. By half-time, they led by 0-11 to 0-4 and whatever hopes Cork had of staging a second half revival were dashed within 10 minutes of the restart when Eoin Brosnan grabbed the only goal after 'Gooch' Cooper's initial effort had come back off the post. The All-Ireland final presented the Kingdom with an ideal opportunity to avenge their crushing defeat to Tyrone in the 2003 semi-final, and the signs looked encouraging when Dara O Cinneide blasted to the net after just six minutes. It was 1-3 to 0-3 at the end of the first quarter, but Tyrone gradually gained the upper hand after that and drew level by the 26th minute thanks to scores from Owen Mulligan, Brian McGuigan and Brian Dooher. A Stephen O'Neill free gave Mickey Harte's side the lead for the first time three minutes before the break, and while Cooper was quick to restore parity, the Kingdom were dealt a severe blow on the stroke of half-time when Peter Canavan beat Diarmuid Murphy with a low shot to give Tyrone a 1-8 to 1-5 advantage at the break. Following the resumption, Cooper reduced the deficit but Tyrone then went into overdrive and opened up a five-point lead. Kerry's challenge appeared to be fading as the last quarter approached, but after Darragh O Se landed his second point, his brother Tomas scored a cracking goal out of nothing to leave just the minimum between the sides. Again, Tyrone refused to press the panic button and the re-introduced Canavan responded with a spectacular point. A Cooper free made it a one-point game once again with nine minutes remaining, but that was as close as Kerry got as O'Neill, McGuigan and Philip Jordan fired over points in the closing stages to give the battle-hardened Ulstermen a 1-16 to 2-10 victory, and shatter the Kingdom's bid for a 34th All-Ireland crown. Within a few weeks of the All-Ireland final defeat, Jack O'Connor announced that he would be continuing as manager for another year, news which was greeted by Murphy. "It's a big boost that Jack and the rest of the management (Ger O'Keeffe, Johnny Culloty and Pat Flanagan) have decided to stay on. They probably feel they have unfinished business to attend to," the AXA Insurance employee says. "While we won't know until the spring if the hunger and desire is still there, I'm confident that all the lads will come back feeling refreshed and determined to make amends for what happened this year. "I'm expecting the likes of Bryan Sheehan, Kieran Donaghy, Darren O'Sullivan, Paddy Kelly and Padraig Reidy to push hard for starting places next year. It is time these guys stepped up to the plate and put more pressure on the established players. Every team needs new blood and we're no exception." In conclusion, Murphy feels Kerry will need to be more clinical if they are to wrest Sam Maguire back from Tyrone in 2006. "We need to show a more ruthless streak and not lose concentration as was the case in some of our matches this year. We need to be at our most ruthless in the last 10 minutes because that's usually when games are won and lost." Tweet

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