Padraic Joyce hailed Matthew Tierney’s “phenomenal” contribution as Galway swept to a Connacht final victory over Sligo.
Tierney hit a brilliant 2-7 in Galway’s 14-point win, with Tribe boss Joyce admitting afterwards that he had challenged him to put more scores on the board.
He said: “I’m constantly telling him he should be kicking 1-2 or 1-3, but 2-7 was a phenomenal score in fairness to him.
READ MORE: Joyce joy as Galway bridge 20-year gap by sweeping Sligo aside in Connacht final
“He probably could have got a third goal when he punched the ball over the bar. But again, he was one of our standout players in the League and not only that, he caught kick-outs, kicked a 45, punched a score and kicked a free and had a couple of great scores from play as well.
“It was a fantastic performance from him, but I always tell these fellas when it comes to these individual accolades to get it again in two weeks’ time.”
That will be a Group 2 All-Ireland series tie with Tyrone in Pearse Stadium as the new Championship format kicks in.
“We would be happy,” said Joyce of Galway’s season so far. “Obviously we wouldn’t be happy with losing the League final; it would have been the icing on the cake to win that and Connacht, but I think we’re in a good place where we’re at.
“We’re fine, we’re building all the time. Just because we lost the final last year doesn’t mean we have a God-given right to come back this year and be in the final again, or win the final.
“We’ve got to work hard for it and the lads are working really, really hard. I’ve said it before, they’re a great bunch of guys. My biggest problem is not to get them over-trained, and confining them to training the days we want them to train so they’re fresh and ready to go.
“We know where we’re at and we have a tough month ahead of us again, with Tyrone at home, Westmeath away and the losers of the Ulster final.
“They’re going to be great games for us. As management, I love these type of games where they’re all different tactically and that kind of stuff so you learn a lot from them and realise where your squad is at and who’s up for the challenge.”
Sligo manager Tony McEntee acknowledged that the gulf in class was too great for his side to bridge coming from Division Four and he said that their Group 3 campaign will be a “developmental piece”.
“I think the pressure is going to be on us in the next three games, we play Kildare, Roscommon and then Dublin,” said the Armagh native.
“These four games were always about learning for us, if we get a single win against any of those teams it will be massive for us. In all honesty, we are so far behind in Division Four, coming to Division Three, compared to those Division One and Two teams.
“Realistically, if we get a good result, if we get a win against any of those teams, we’ll be very pleased. Clearly at this stage we’ll be targeting that first win against Kildare the next day.”
