Analysis: This will have to go down as one of the better league finals of recent years. Right from the go both teams went out with real intent, and while the pace might have been a little short of championship tempo, some of the quality of scoring certainly wasn't.

Kerry outshone Galway in that regard, and so were well deserving of their victory.

And judging by the reaction of the Kerry players and management, it was an important game for them to win.

When they went eight points clear after the penalty it seemed the game was dead and buried, so when Galway started that fight-back it would have been disastrous for Kerry if they let a lead like that slip.

Especially after what's happened in Croke Park in recent years.

So just getting to the finish line first was crucial, and having achieved that they will take great confidence going into the championship.

No disrespect to Clare, but the Munster semi-final against Cork is what matters now and a result like this will set them up well.

For a start, the Kerry forwards worked far more effectively as a unit. The way they moved about and passed the ball was one of the main differences, and you felt any one of them could have got to the end of their scoring runs.

When you had the likes of Tomás Ó Sé and Séamus Moynihan coming forward too, it was just too much for Galway to handle.

In a way, though, some of that slack marking was the difference between what we saw here and what will happen later in the summer. Pádhraic Joyce was also enjoying acres of space in the first half in a way that you wouldn't normally see in the championship.

In fact, one of the things Galway might regret is that he didn't work a few of those opportunities a little closer to goal rather than kicking from impossible positions.

But from a Kerry point of view it was important they kept Mike McCarthy on Joyce. It was a lot tighter in the second half, and Galway didn't find nearly as much space and McCarthy has to take some of the credit for that.

Galway might have shaded the first half, but Johnny Crowley's first goal - though a little fortuitous - helped solidify Kerry and from then on I felt they were marginally the better team.

Part of Galway's problem was that so much ball had gone through Joyce, and once he was shackled it didn't augur well for the rest of the game. Micheál Meehan wasn't winning many exchanges off Tomás Ó Sé, and if I were Galway I would have been concerned about that.

When the game took off in the second half Kerry's greater scoring threat proved the more difficult to stop. Crowley's two goals didn't surprise me, because I've always felt he is the perfect complement to Mike Frank Russell and Colm Cooper. He also takes a lot of marking, and this display will give him a great lift. He's not at his sharpest yet, and I'll say we'll hear more from him come the championship.

But Russell and Cooper were superb here, right back to their best. They have such great vision and awareness, and of course their finishing is so clinical. Cooper's pass to Crowley for the first goal was truly exceptional, and there's no doubt he has all the inherent qualities that make up a great forward.

That attack was well supported by the bursting runs from Eoin Brosnan at midfield, and although Darragh Ó Sé will be back for the championship, there are some real options now around the middle of the field.

Kerry probably lost out to Galway in terms of midfield height and fielding, but Brosnan was always a scoring threat, and William Kirby showed great workmanlike and unselfish qualities that proved he's also an important part of this team now.

Galway do deserve some credit for the way they fought back, particularly Michael Donnellan. His goal was a pure gift, the sort of defensive mishap that can happen anywhere, but throughout the second half he showed all his old leadership qualities, chipped in his share of points, and was the main reason why Galway brought it back to a one-point game.

But still their threat from out the wings was limited, and when Moynihan got his hands on the ball from the next kick-out it was clear Kerry weren't about to lose this one.

Jack O'Connor deserves great credit for bringing real spirit and heart back into the Kerry team, and when it came down to the wire over those closing moments it was clear every Kerry player was working for the other.

Losing by a single point won't upset John O'Mahony a whole lot. He's so analytical of games like this that he'll take a good deal from it.

For now, then, both these teams deserve to top the shortlist for championship honours.