Maher pleased with second half improvement

By Michael Dundon

Thurles Sarsfields manager Padraic Maher, in his first term in charge of his native club, had every reason to be pleased on Saturday evening at FBD Semple Stadium as his squad continued their championship charge with a clear-cut win over great divisional rivals Loughmore/Castleiney.

It was a win that was not without its flaws, however, and the former All-Star who stepped down as a Tipperary selector earlier in the week, readily acknowledged this after the game. Sarsfields shot nine first half wides, four of them in the opening five minutes, and instead of enjoying a few points of a lead at half-time, they were behind 0-8 to 1-6.

“We were the authors of our own downfall in the first half with all those misses,” he began.

“But the lads showed great character in the second half, and I thought we did quite well then. It is never easy to win against Loughmore. They are a great side, and they fight to the very end, but I am delighted at the way we ground out this result”, he said.

He added: “Look, it’s great to be in the final. That’s where we want to be, and we will be looking forward to facing whoever comes through on the other side. We have room to improve and that’s what we will be aiming for over the next two weeks.”

He was also pleased that his players appeared to come through unscathed injury-wise but said he will be checking that out this week. Frank McGrath, the Loughmore-Castleiney manager was gracious in defeat. “Sarsfields were the better team on the day. We had two big gaps in our defence (the absence of Joey Hennessy and John Meagher), and they were always going to be hard to fill, particularly when you are competing at this level. We are disappointed but we will be back again next year”, he said.