REACTION: Cahill stresses room for improvement after tough test against Kerry in Tralee

Liam Cahill was quick to credit Kerry after a testing Sunday afternoon in Tralee, admitting the Kingdom pushed Tipperary all the way despite the Premier County emerging with the points.

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“Huge credit to Kerry on the day,” said the Tipperary manager. “They came really well organised. It was a really spirited performance with no lack of quality.

“It was maybe just a couple of chances that let them down. They could have made it even more difficult than it had been.”

Tipperary raced into an early 0-5 to 0-1 lead inside the opening seven minutes, but the expected flood of scores never materialised.

In fact, Cahill’s side managed just one additional point for the remainder of the first half as Kerry settled and began to frustrate their more fancied opponents.

The contest ultimately went right to the wire, played out in challenging conditions that tested both panels.

“It went down to the wire,” Cahill added. “Really difficult hurling in difficult conditions but it was the same for both sides. Fair play to Kerry. I think they probably got more out of it than we did.”

Tipperary’s selection had raised eyebrows beforehand, with nine players who featured in last year’s All-Ireland final named in the starting 15.

Given the mathematical possibility of a 38-point victory sending Tipp through to the final, some viewed it as a clear statement of intent.

However, Cahill dismissed any suggestion that chasing a huge winning margin was part of the plan.

“It was never really part of our mindset coming down,” he said.

“Our mindset was to get game-time into guys that haven’t seen action of late and have been on extended rests, only maybe back in training three weeks or more.

“It just so happened that seven or eight of them were on the All-Ireland team or squad. You could see that some of them needed it badly because on Saturday week we have Galway in the league.”

While the result ticked the most important box, the Tipperary boss acknowledged there was room for improvement ahead of their next outing.

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“The key was to get a result and a performance. We got the result but the performance maybe left a little bit to be desired.”

Tipperary now turn their attention to the upcoming league clash with Galway, with Cahill hopeful the minutes gained in Tralee will stand to his squad as preparations continue.