By Michael Devlin

It was ultimately job done for Tipperary following yesterday’s 2-25 to 1-18 All Ireland SHC quarter final win over Laois, but manager Liam Sheedy was adamant that a similar performance will not be good enough if they are to advance in the competition.

The Premier County now meet Leinster champs Wexford in the last four in a fortnight, and while Sheedy was undeniably thrilled to have got past yesterday’s awkward assignment and progress to the semi-finals, he stressed that a much improved display will be needed to get the better of Davy Fitzgerald’s side.

Speaking after yesterday's game, Sheedy said: “We had some really good patches of play, picked off some really good scores and lovely strikes in the second half I felt, but that level of performance won’t be enough to take us any further in the completion, we are under no illusions in that regard.

“We got eight points clear in the first half, looked like we were going to push on, but they got it back to four at halftime. They asked questions of us at various stages in that match, but for us, we have managed to cross the line and get into the last four.”

While Laois’ surprise win over Dublin in Portlaoise last week had captured the hearts of hurling fans across the country, the chances of Eddie Brennan’s men repeating the trick against Tipperary in Croke Park were slim. Such presumption of a Tipperary victory was admittedly a challenge to Sheedy in the build-up to the game, and Laois certainly made life difficult for his side yesterday afternoon.

“It was a tricky fixture, a lot of people saying all week that we you just have to come up, so that’s always a dangerous place to be. Eddie has that team playing really really well, Laois have a great spirit about them, I witnessed it myself last Sunday in Portlaoise, and we saw it there again today.

“We probably set our own standards in terms of performances, we wouldn’t really be happy with where we got to today. All the talk all week was that Laois weren’t in the Championship, and that is difficult, because I know Eddie, and we all saw them last Sunday, the way they played was admirable down in Portlaoise. They have a great spirit about them, a great energy, they’re very good to work the ball out of defence, and they’re well coached. They brought a lot to that pitch today.

“We played second fiddle in a lot of sectors of that pitch today, and there were parts of their play that we had no answer to. That’s a concern, but at the same time for us, we didn’t rack up a really good score in 2-25, we probably could have had another green flag or two in that first half.

“Look, it is mission accomplished. These matches, it’s damned if you do damned if you don’t, but for us it’s just about getting through and finding ourselves in the last four.

“I’m a realist, and that performance will probably not be enough. Wexford will probably go in really hot favourites based on their performances this year, they are unbeaten to date. But certainly we know there is a better level than today.

“This is the two weeks we were looking forward to, building up to an All-Ireland semi-final.”