Tipperary hurling manager Michael Ryan refused to criticise his players after crashing out of title race contention in the Munster Championship.
The 2016 All-Ireland winners lost out to Clare thanks to Peter Duggan’s two-point haul in stoppage time as the Banner County beat Tipp in the championship for the first time in 15 years.
But Ryan preferred to congratulate Clare for their heroics rather than take aim at his players’ efforts at Semple Stadium.
“I don’t think it was anything you could put your finger on other than two teams who went absolutely at it,” Ryan told Maire T Ni Cheallaigh.
“Clare are an absolutely quality side and to be fair to them that’s probably the best they’ve played too in the Championship.
“That’s a great win for them and I think it will do a huge amount for their confidence. There are loads of matches that don’t go your way when you don’t play particularly well.
“And I think that was one of the matches that went against us and we didn’t do anything wrong to be honest. I just felt it was a brilliant game in ideal conditions and I think hurling was the winner – but we were the losers.
“Credit to our panel. Everyone who went onto the pitch gave absolutely everything they could. Clare did the same – I could see them running out their bench too.
“That’s what it takes. It’s a 20-man effort out there today – particularly in that heat – it was very draining and the energy the guys were showing out there was phenomenal.”
James Hopper
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