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 seem to get that bit of momentum to get two or three points, to get that little bit of a gap there.
"But look, to be fair to Limerick, they’re true champions. We really went at them, and it was only that last phase – their bench obviously made a bit of an impact and pulled away a little bit.
"They're farther down the line – [David] Reidy, Cian Lynch and all these lads coming in, they knew what they were doing and the way they were going to go about it. I think that played a part but our shooting needed to be really on the money and it was a little off."
Shefflin cut an animated figure on the sideline second-half – he and Limerick coach Paul Kinnerk were both booked – when Galway were awarded just one scoreable free to seven for Limerick (five converted) but he had no complaints about the officiating.
"Limerick won the match and they were the better team," he concluded.
"I did feel there was a ten-minute, 12-minute spell in the second half there, after we got the [Brian Concannon] goal, that there were a few marginal calls that didn’t go our way, yes.
"But look, I don’t think they all went over the bar either and I think in the overall context of the, it comes and goes a little bit, to be fair.
"We had a very good opportunity to beat the double All-Ireland champions, and we just came up short."
Disappointment then but great hope for the future after a campaign when recalled players like Tom Monaghan and Jack Grealish, both 25, and youngsters Ronan Glennon and Darren Morrissey made their mark?
"I think the answer to that will be if Galway are back here next year and it’s a different result," said Shefflin.
"I think they’ve made great strides, yes, and there’s a great group of people around, a great backroom team. I suppose it’s what happens next before we’ll know unfortunately, isn’t it? It’s a long road back because there are a lot of teams looking in today that would love to be up here and would love the opportunity.
"I think when you go into a group of people, you’re kind of saying, 'Where are this team at?’. I’ve often referenced it to the lads, I probably wasn’t quite sure myself. But we went down to Limerick in the National League, and that night I came out of Limerick saying, ‘Jesus, do you know what? There’s something in this group’. And I think we can say that again today.
"There was a bit of that transition taking place but it's not really transition because someone else comes in and takes up the mantle and away you go. That’s what we have to do – look at various options in players and see what’s out there.
"I hope they know now that they’re not too far away. There are loads of good hurlers up there so it’s just trying to put the small fine details to it to see can you go on to the next level. Some of those lads have been there, they’ve won an All-Ireland, so you’d hope so."
