Mayo's decision to select Aidan O'Shea at full back didn't come as a surprise to Kieran Donaghy.

O'Shea was given the task of curbing Donaghy's influence, especially in the air, but it's highly unlikely that he will be deployed there again in the replay after the Kerry targetman was involved in many of his side's scores.

"I was ready for anything," Donaghy told the Marty Squad on RTE Radio One.

"I had about five or six scenarios in my head for the start of the game, so no, I wasn't (surprised)."

Donaghy admitted that Mayo's strong start put Kerry on the backfoot.

"We were reacting to it rather than taking it at them early on. You have to give them credit for that," he continued.

"Nobody got a big enough lead at a crucial time in the game (to put close it out). We'd go up one, they'd get two in-a-row and they'd go up one, then we'd get two in-a-row and got back up one.

"We never got much momentum in the second half. It was tit-for-tat really. Both (sets of) players wanted it badly and it showed out there. The conditions were tough for football, so credit must be given to both teams for putting on a game like that on a slick surface with a slick ball."

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