'Sport is cruel' - Shefflin proud of performance but knows Galway missed great shot at All-Ireland final

Henry Shefflin had far more ups than downs in what was the most successful hurling career on record.

But at Croke Park on Sunday, his first year in inter-county management ended with a gut-wrenching defeat.

Galway weren't given much hope of stopping Limerick, and in the end they didn’t, but the Kilkenny man’s fiercely competitive side stayed with the All-Ireland champions right until the finish, in a display few thought them capable of after falling over the line against Cork.

"It’s just very disappointing," Shefflin told RTÉ Sport after the game. "You give it absolutely everything, and then it’s all over and you just come up a little bit short, and there are a lot of ifs and buts.

"But from a management point of view, and from a group point of view, we said we wanted to do ourselves proud on the field today and I think we achieved that. I couldn't ask for more.

"Obviously, you’re underdogs, the pressure is not as much on you so you can really go after the All-Ireland champions. We had that belief that we had the capability to do it.

"Especially coming up against such hot favourites, you speak a lot about getting a performance – that’s what we needed. And then you get the performance and you don’t get the result. You know, sport is cruel."

Galway led as late as the 62nd minute before eventually losing by three points, having hit four wides more than their opponents (19-15), but 12 in the first half alone.

"Our shooting efficiency (47% to Limerick’s 61%) let us down," he admitted.

"We knew we’d have to take a lot of shots from mid-range but obviously you’re hoping some of them go over.

"And then I think we coughed up a few silly points in the first half, and all those kind of things come back to bite you a little bit.

"We couldn’t