By Cian O'Connell

Tipperary manager Michael Ryan praised Kilkenny for being 'ruthless' during Sunday's Allianz Hurling League Final at Nowlan Park.

In the opening 20 minutes of the second half Tipperary only managed to hit two shots from play as Kilkenny set the tone. "It doesn't get easier by the way, no we were well and truly beaten in that second half," Ryan reflected. 

"We were in good shape for the first half. I wasn't happy with how we were playing even at that.  I just felt we were within ourselves and we weren't showing enough urgency to face what I knew was going to come which was a Kilkenny attack. They had all the intensity, we didn't."

Was it as demoralising as last year's final defeat against Galway at the Gaelic Grounds? "Yeah look it they do that," Ryan stated.  "Thinking about ourselves, yeah it's disappointing. It's nothing like last year, last year was a non turn up. 

"This was a good contest, we were in the game and we stayed in the game. They got a four point head start straight after half-time and they finished with six. 

"But they were ruthless, they took a couple of great goals and that's what they do. They capitalise on your weaknesses and they certainly did that."

Ryan hopes that Tipperary will be primed for the start of the Munster Senior Hurling Championship next month. "It’s a disappointment to the system - Shock? Look, I think we are all playing the game long enough to understand you are guaranteed nothing in life and nobody would come to watch hurling if they could predict the results," Ryan remarked. 

"We came, we tried, it just wasn’t good enough, but I’d still have a huge amount of confidence in what we are doing and what we are about. 

"We have a very fine panel and we look forward to welcoming the rest of the guys back that we haven’t seen all year, so we can really push the competitive buttons in Thurles. That’s where we need to get to, back to Thurles and back to working hard."