Jack O'Connor relieved as Kerry show great heart to put slump behind them

Jack O'Connor was pleased with the response of his Kerry side after they put a poor defeat to Mayo behind them with a hard-fought win over Armagh in Tralee.

The All-Ireland champions were beaten by seven points in round two after only managing three themselves in the first half.

But on Saturday evening they got the better of a dogged Armagh outfit to win by a single score, 0-12 to 0-11.

"We were awful disappointed with last week in Castlebar," Kerry boss Jack O'Connor told RTÉ Sport afterwards. "We didn't think that was a true reflection of what we're about.

"We got a good reaction on Tuesday night at training and we were glad we got a reaction tonight.

"They're proud lads and they wanted to put their best foot forward. We said before the game in the dressing-room that it was up to them and I thought they were excellent, particularly in the second half because Armagh went two up and they're a tough nut to crack.

"They're very fit and very physical. It took great resolve from our guys to get over the line.

"Overall, great heart, which is what we were looking for. We were looking for attitude and performance tonight and if we got a result that was a bonus."

Man of the match Dara Moynihan and Jack O'Connor react to Kerry's narrow victory over Armagh. #GAA #AllianLeagues pic.twitter.com/V76lFNGKLn

Man of the match Dara Moynihan said O'Connor hadn't been happy but the players knew themselves that they needed to improve this week.

"We let ourselves down massively last weekend. We know that," he told RTÉ Sport.

"Jack let us know during the week. I wouldn't say the hairdryer treatment but he let us know. It wasn't good enough and we were way off the pace.

"We needed to come out here and get a good performance at home. That was all that