Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy pictured at Pearse Stadium on Sunday.
By Cian O'Connell
Despite exiting the Allianz Hurling League, Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy remains hopeful that his team will be primed for the Munster Championship in May.
Tipperary led Galway by eight points in the opening period before the maroon and white outfit summoned a daring second half rally.
“There was a fine wind there but it wasn’t about the wind," Sheedy reflected. "It was about that Galway team in the second half that came at us the crowd got behind them, the weather was coming at us and everything was coming at us and we just couldn’t find the answers.
"That’s disappointing for us, but I suppose you’d rather have that element of a problem in early March.
"We went out of the League on March 14 last year. I don’t think the League will define us; ultimately it will be all about the Championship, but we have a lot of work to do.
"There is good character in that dressing room and those boys will be hurting and they will go about their business, but we have a lot of work to do.
Tipperary manager Liam Sheedy praised Galway's second half display at Pearse Stadium.
"I suppose we don’t have a wonderful record when we do go and win McCarthy of coming back and getting to the required level.
"So we have a lot of work to do in the next number of weeks but I’d be very confident that this group will do the work that is required."
The Portroe clubman acknowledged that the All Ireland champions haven't hurled with their usual fluidity during the League.
“Yeah, you know, I would say our ability to get quality possession and work off the shoulder, we probably haven’t found our flow in this League, it’s fair to say, but we have shown flashes of when we do get it right, how good we are," Sheedy stated.
"But we’ve obviously got to get way, way more consistent in our application. That room in there sets very high standards for itself and we came up well short of that standard in that second half and when we do come short of standards that’s ultimately what you get but full credit to Shane (O'Neill) and to Galway, they were outstanding in that second half.
"They ran at us, they got quality ball in and they struck the decisive scores. Some of the scores they took in the second half were of the highest order. For us to get that level of competition against that top class opposition, we learned a huge amount about ourselves and we go out of here with loads to work on."
