Galway are further away from landing Liam MacCarthy now than they were 12 months ago, according to former Tipperary hurler Shane McGrath.
In Henry Shefflin's first year in charge of the Tribes, the men from the west pushed Limerick all the way in a keenly contested All-Ireland semi-final, eventually going under by three points as the Treaty men marched towards three-in-a-row.
A year later and while the outcome was the same, the manner of the defeat was very much different. Having taken the game to the champions, they were full value for a six-point lead shortly after Cathal Mannion’s brilliantly taken goal.
From there on in it was one-way traffic, John Kiely’s side outscoring Galway 1-18 to 0-6 to power to a nine-point win at Croke Park.
Shefflin had no complaints after the game, paying tribute to a devastating Limerick performance – "you can’t play for 25 minutes in an All-Ireland semi-final. They thundered into the game and wrestled it back. There was only one winner from there," but admitted that "it didn’t feel like progress" when assessing where his team are in the overall scheme of things.
'You can't play for 25 minutes in an All-Ireland hurling semi-final' - Henry Shefflin reflects on his Galway side's fast start and their inability to back it up pic.twitter.com/0FMpcIhIwS
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 8, 2023
Speaking on the RTÉ GAA podcast, McGrath feels the Tribesmen have slipped back from where they were last year.
"Galway people were most disappointed with how they went down. It wasn’t that they lost," he said.
"I understand that. From a Tipperary point of view, it wasn’t that we lost to Galway in the quarter-final, it was how we went down. We just went down without a real fight and that’s how Galway were on Saturday.
"In 2022, with 66 minutes gone in the game, it was a draw. In 2023, after 66 minutes, Limerick were up by seven and cruising.
"We were asking if Galway have made progress in the year, and for me, with those two things, I don’t think they have.
"I know that might be hard to say, but I don’t think they have as a group. They were nearly in a better place this time last year; they gave a better performance and were closer.
"This year, let's be honest, it was capitulation from minute 27 on. That was very evident in the way they were outscored."
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