Tipperary Minors will learn from bitter pill of defeat, says manager
‘It’s just an awful pity’ says James Woodlock
Manager James Woodlock is certain his talented Tipperary minors will learn from an agonising All-Ireland minor hurling final defeat to Limerick last Saturday, where they “did everything bar win the game”.
In an echo of the county’s Under 20 hurlers at the same venue last month, the Premier County’s Under 17s mirrored the older cohort’s total of 18 wides to fall just short of claiming silverware.
Woodlock referred to the last-gasp loss as a “bitter pill” for a group that enjoyed a magnificent six-game winning streak to reach the decider.
“We did everything bar win the game and it's just an awful pity,” he said.
“So much effort went in by the boys, so much work, got everything right, and just on the day, couldn't put the ball over the bar or in the back of the net.
“Some poor decision-making, which normally you wouldn't associate with the team, but they took the wrong options. Can’t fault their effort, they never give up, they stayed at it, and just got caught at the end.
“I thought maybe when we went three up, we had enough done but look, the final whistle matters once and once only. Limerick kept going and they probably got their bit of luck as well.
“Eighteen wides overall tells its own story. We were all over them for a long period of time and just didn’t get enough up on the scoreboard to push ahead. To score six points in the second half isn't enough”.
With Tipp leading for the best part of an hour’s hurling, they just didn’t put enough distance between themselves and Limerick.
“Even in the first half, we were by far the better team and just didn't go in enough (ahead) at half-time. The penalty was a sucker punch,” said Woodlock.
“You need to keep the scoreboard ticking. We didn't do that and we suffered because of it.
“I can't fault them for anything. A couple of decisions, yeah, we could reflect on what they could’ve done differently, but we hit the goalpost, we hit the goalie, we hit one of their backs and the ball just wouldn't go into the back of the net for us.
“I felt that if we could get a goal or two or three points, if we'd get five or six ahead, that we’d push on and we just couldn't get there”.
With a Munster title to their name, Woodlock feels this group are well positioned to push on.
“It lent to our poorest display all year, not a good game of hurling, but at the end of the day there's a winner, it's Limerick and it's not us. We have to go away and lick our wounds and learn from it.
“Twenty-eight of them played championship hurling, that's development for them. Bring them down into the lion’s den, make them brave, make them resilient, and they have a huge spirit in the group, so they did everything bar win the game.
“They'll definitely be better because of it. It won't seem like that to them today, but in weeks and months ahead they will”.