All-Ireland SFC fourth round qualifiers/Kerry 4-11 Longford 1-11: There was something for everyone in the audience at Fitzgerald Stadium on Saturday. Longford lost but did more than enough to underline the fact they are a coming force. Kerry won and provided material for both persuasions in the local constituency. Glass half full? Glass half empty? You could make your own argument.
What is irrefutable is that before Saturday the Kerry glass was considerably less than half full. Things are at least going in the right direction and the prospect of playing Armagh this weekend will certainly concentrate minds within the county.
The good news first. Kerry's forwards' performance, while not mesmeric, was much improved. Having failed to score a goal in four previous championship matches, they grabbed four and could feel disappointed not to have made it six.
Colm Cooper, if still a little hesitant in his shooting, shows signs of comprehensive rehabilitation. Eoin Brosnan got three goals without being at his best. Mike Frank Russell won a lot of ball even if four wides and a missed penalty suggested the confidence is coming back just slowly.
Then there was Kieran Donaghy, selected at full forward after an apprenticeship in midfield. He knows how to catch a ball though, and a run through the bullet points is sufficient to describe his impact.
Four minutes: he palms down a long Séamus Moynihan pass into the path of Russell, who pops it over.
Seven minutes: great catch from a Darren O'Sullivan long ball. Feeds Brosnan. Goal!
Eleven minutes: an Aidan O'Mahony long ball. Another catch. Here comes Brosnan. Goal!
Sixteen minutes: intercepts a pass from the Longford corner back Dermot Brady and feeds Russell, who finds the Gooch. Goal!
Fifty-two minutes: Great catch. Turns. Is dragged down for a penalty, which Russell hits at the Longford goalkeeper.
Fifty-nine minutes: a catch and a wonderful pass to Gooch, who feeds - who else? - Brosnan. Goal!
Donaghy did much else. His original marker, Brian Gilleran, was withdrawn early, a necessary cruelty to spare him further suffering.
In the light of such a dream performance the obvious question was what would Francie Bellew, above in Armagh, be making of it.
The truth is it doesn't matter too much. Donaghy won't create four goals for Kerry next weekend. He won't win every ball that gets pumped in. He is an option though and Kerry have been desperate for options. He takes the pressure off Cooper; if there isn't cleanly caught ball there'll be breaking ball and free kicks. There'll be scraps for smart forwards to live off.
Kerry can be pleased with the progress their forwards have made. Four goals is as many as Longford conceded in three previous championship matches.
Worrying, though, will be the concession of 1-11 and the fact that for periods, especially early in the second half, Longford dominated, winning everything in the middle third. Having conceded three early goals, Longford never let the margin get much beyond that.
David Barden and Brian Kavanagh proved - as Séamus Moynihan pointed out later - they would "get onto any team in the country". Kavanagh's well-taken goal looked briefly as if it would kick-start a stunning comeback.
Therein lie the worries for Kerry. Their defence suffered on Saturday, especially when Longford ran at them. Tomás Ó Sé and Moynihan suffered noticeably, while the Kerry midfield struggled at times to contain the exuberance of their Longford counterparts.
"Lads," said Jack O'Connor afterwards, "we'd have taken any kind of a win the way we're going. It was just a bit special to finally open up and get a few goals.
"We felt when they had an inexperienced full back coming into Fitzgerald Stadium for the first time that it would be a big test. It (Donaghy at full forward) worked beyond our wildest dreams, to be honest with you. At least three goals came off him. When he moved out the field he had a lot of energy out there. It's good to be back playing with a bit of structure."
Longford's journey ended, but in a way it has just begun. The county brought a good-humoured and vocal army of support to Killarney. They played as a young team with zest and ingenuity. Even their warm-up routines were a little dizzying. If they can stay together and find a couple more big men for the spine of the team they will be a power.
"Kerry played the precision, clinical football that we aspire to," said Luke Dempsey with modesty and grace afterwards. "Kerry had that, especially with Brosnan coming onto the play of the inside men.
"We're so young. We need strong men in the centre. Kerry are strong in those positions. The middle men running onto breaks and using experience and craftiness - that was the difference. It will take time but you can see we have come a long way from the Dublin match."
As for Kerry, they have also come a long way in a short time. Next Saturday will show precisely how far.
KERRY: D Murphy; M Ó Sé, M McCarthy, T O'Sullivan; T Ó Sé, S Moynihan, A O'Mahony; D Ó Sé (0-1), T Griffin (0-1); D O'Sullivan, E Brosnan (3-0), P Galvin (0-1); C Cooper (1-3, one free), K Donaghy (0-1), MF Russell (0-2, one free). Subs: Declan O'Sullivan for Darren O'Sullivan (35 mins), M Lyons for T Ó Sé (54 mins), B Sheehan (0-1, a free) for Griffin (54 mins), S O'Sullivan (0-1) for Galvin (60 mins), E Fitzmaurice for Moynihan (60 mins).
LONGFORD: D Sheridan; D Brady, B Gilleran, C Conefrey; S Mulligan, D Masterson, D Reilly; B McElvaney (0-2, frees), L Keenan; P Berry, P Barden (0-3), T Smullen; D Barden, P Dowd, B Kavanagh (1-6, four frees). Subs: A O'Connor for B Gilleran (14 mins), J Martin for Smullen (57 mins), K Smith for Berry (65 mins).
Referee: V Neary (Mayo).
