All-Ireland SFC semi-final: Kerry 2-18 (2-3-12) Dublin 0-20 (0-2-16)Kerry march on to take their title defence to the final day but it wasn’t achieved with much sparkle, as Dublin pushed them hard without threatening the outcome.There is resigned acceptance in Kerry that for these matches to be judged ‘classics,’ Dublin have to win but such scratchiness aside, this wasn’t an exemplar of the genre.The champions will be happy though to have negotiated the semi-final but made hard work of it.Dublin will be glad to have turned around their season after a terrible start but equally, a bit vexed at a couple of decisions that went against them and were, given the four-point margin, consequential.They had opened with a two-point free, kicked by Cormac Costello but within a minute, Kerry had won a penalty, referee Brendan Cawley deeming that Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne had fouled Joe O’Connor within the square. David Clifford’s kick was saved by Evan Comerford but he was alive to the rebound and tucked it away.There was a big wind blowing and it felt like Dublin needed to have something to show for their first half riding it into the Davin End. In the event, they got to half-time on level terms, caught by an expert running-down of the final seconds before the interval as Kerry organised one last attack for Seán O’Shea to point a buzzer-beating equaliser.Kerry's Paudie Clifford and Alex Gavin of Dublin - Clifford was very influential for the Kingdom. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho A couple of things had become evident in the first half. One, Paudie Clifford was being allowed free rein beyond the 40m arc. The price wasn’t initially exorbitant, but it was a risky strategy and by the end Clifford had been the match’s main influence, scoring 0-5, including a two-pointer and cleverly laying off assists and ending the match with 70 possessions.In last year’s All-Ireland final, he had 76, as Donegal notoriously decided not to man-mark him. This time the outcome was little different but Dublin defended really well inside the arc to limit goal-scoring chances and the two they conceded were questionable between the penalty call and the second-half goal, which killed their third-quarter superiority but which looked an obvious square ball.Also in evidence was the exceptional man-to-man job on David Clifford by David Byrne, who with assistance tracked Kerry’s rainmaker, although Clifford nonetheless ended up with 1-5. The goal came from the penalty, so 0-5 in open play on the specially adjusted scale reserved for the great man’s markers, rates highly.At one point in the second half, Byrne blocked his man on the edge of the arc to initiate a counterattack.Dublin's Brian Howard scores a point despite the efforts of Kerry's Mark O’Shea. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho There were times when Clifford appeared to be running decoy when Paudie was on the ball, as that sight attracted defenders to him like flies to a honeypot – a distraction that he exploited on a couple of occasions.Dublin stuck at it. Cormac Costello, Colm Basquel and Con O’Callaghan all chipped in scores as Kerry defended their arc well, conceding just two two-pointers.If the scene looked set for Kerry at the break, the third quarter featured a turnaround. Dublin got on top of the Shane Murphy kickout and won four of them on the bounce, helping themselves to three points. They reduced the Kerry restart dominance of the season to date, restricting them to 63 per cent of their own kickouts while harvesting 68 per cent of their own.There was some outstanding work done by Brian Howard who had his best display in a while whereas Ó Cofaigh Byrne also played his part before having to withdraw, injured in the 55th minute.Kerry's Gavin White tries to evade Dublin's Niall Scully in Croke Park on Sunday. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho But as one wise football observer said, it is a simple enough game: kickouts won, kickouts lost and efficiency. Whereas Dublin did well to hold their own and dispute and disrupt the opposition, they were well bested on the efficiency question. Their 13 wides contrasted with Kerry’s five plus two short.Such a disparity exerts big pressure on a team and so it proved. There was also a share of misfortune. The second goal conceded nullified Dublin’s bright start to the half, putting them three points ahead.Dylan Geaney hadn’t missed all year and when he broke his sequence in the 43rd minute, the shot fell short and Seán O’Brien got the vital touch although video review suggested he was already in the square.Kerry's Seán O'Brien scores his side’s second goal - replays suggested it was a square ball. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho Dublin’s other main quibble with the fates came just before the hour when Ross McGarry’s shot was blocked and having ballooned into the air, he followed it in and got a further touch on the ball, which was blocked by a combination of Paul Murphy and Michael Breen and although there was a suggestion that the ball had crossed the line, the video review couldn’t be quite conclusive.Nonetheless, it was part of a sequence of big calls that went against Dublin, maybe only the square ball a blatant error but the cumulative effect well covered a four-point spread.Kerry comfortably managed the match to its conclusion, breaking fast up the field to rifle over scores. The last one saw David Clifford exultant as his point closed out the scoring and on the hooter, he lashed the ball into the upper deck of the Davin, more relieved to put away the opposition than would generally have been anticipated.On they go, with the prospect of first back-to-back titles in 19 years.Kerry: S Murphy; P Murphy, J Foley, D Casey; G White, M Breen, G O’Sullivan (0-0-2); M O’Shea. S O’Brien (1-0-0); J O’Connor, P Clifford (0-1-3), D O’Connor; S O’Shea (0-1-2, 1m), D Clifford (1-1-3), D Geaney (0-0-1). Subs: B Ó Beaglaoich for O’Sullivan (43 mins), K Evans for O’Brien (47 mins), E Looney for P Murphy (59 mins), A Heinrich for White (59 mins), T Kennedy (0-0-1) for D Geaney (63 mins).Dublin: E Comerford; L Gannon, D Byrne, T Clancy; C McMorrow (0-0-2), B Howard (0-0-2), E Kennedy; P Ó Cofaigh Byrne, A Gavin; C Basquel, (0-0-3), N Scully (0-0-1), C Kilkenny; P Small (0-0-2), C O’Callaghan (capt; 0-1-0), C Costello (0-1f-5, 1 45). Subs: C Murphy for Gavin (51 mins), R McGarry for Ó Cofaigh Byrne (55 mins), S Bugler (0-0-1) for Kennedy (58 mins), S Guiden for P Small (63 mins).Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare).