Limerick manager TJ Ryan found it difficult to explain where his side fell short during their defeat to 14-man Tipperary in the Munster SHC semi-final.
In difficult conditions at Semple Stadium, the Premier County were forced to play with reduced numbers after John O'Dwyer's sending off in the 14th minute of the game.
Prior to this, Tipperary had already scored two early goals courtesy of midfielder Michael Breen and Ryan says it was always going to be difficult to make up the deficit.
"When you concede three goals in the first half of any game it's difficult to win," he said after yesterday's match.
"I know they were a man down, it's very disappointing. Going out in the second half that we were in a good position. We needed to get a couple of scores and put them under pressure, but when that didn't happen they began to dictate proceedings in the second half.
"We played on their terms in the second half and didn't look like scoring the goal any earlier."
Tipperary's John O'Dwyer is shown a straight red card for a striking offence during their Munster SHC semi-final clash with Limerick. Image: ©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan
Ryan acknowledged Tipperary's performance, in particular their defensive line who kept Cian Lynch and Declan Hannon restricted to just a handful of points each.
"Defensively they were very strong. They hounded and hunted, getting a number of hooks and blocks in. They snuffed us out at every oppourtunity, they deserve a lot of credit for that. We should have gotten one or two more scores early in the second half and if we had... We just needed to get level and then we could have stuck our noses in front."
Ryan refused to blame the wait from the end of their league campaign to yesterday's clash, insisting the team had prepared as well as they could have.
"Look, I'm sure we can pick issues with it. I think we prepared very well but we got out there and made a few unforced errors early on. Overall, the better team won on the day."
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
