Ciarán Whelan: Armagh booking final ticket not 'a huge surprise'

Getting past the challenge of Kerry after extra-time in Saturday's All-Ireland SFC semi-final only served to reinforce Ciarán Whelan's view that Armagh new-found resilience was going to take down one of the big hitters.

In the end, Kieran McGeeney's side had two points to spare, their strong showing as the second half wore on and then in extra-time was key as they repelled the Kingdom threat. Armagh have endured the heartache of penalty losses in recent Ulster finals and in the All-Ireland series, but this year, following the pain of the provincial loss to Donegal, they have bounced back superbly and will now contest the Sam Maguire decider against Galway on 28 July.

No doubt, Armagh fans will bring much colour to Croker as the county seeks a second All-Ireland title.

Whelan, speaking on the latest edition of the RTÉ GAA Podcast, paid tribute to how Kieran McGeeney's outfit has responded to the setbacks.

"I think over a period of time, they have built a resilience within themselves and have come back from defeats, have come back in a positive way," he said.

"They have tried to channel that energy in a positive way particularly after the Ulster final this year when you felt it was going to be a hard road back for them after another significant knock, not winning that provincial title."

Honing in on the win over Kerry, the former Dublin star added: "A couple of things probably broke their way but you cannot fault their commitment, their effort, their passion to succeed. It was really the sum of the parts. You were looking at the player of the match - Rian O'Neill got it - and that catch near the end. It was fantastic but they had so many guys that made a contribution throughout the 70 minutes and in extra-time.

"There is a lot to