It would make for great reading but for now whatever anger Ger Loughnane vented at the Galway hurlers after last Sunday's National League defeat to Dublin is staying within the dressingroom. No one will even suggest just how angry Loughnane was, although having kept the door closed for almost an hour following the defeat it's fair to assume he wasn't telling jokes to cheer them up.

There's now a real sense of urgency surrounding Sunday's game against Tipperary. Victory would keep Galway on course to make the play-offs, and defeat could leave them with that painful void before the championship. Experienced defender Damien Joyce yesterday reiterated Galway's intent on making those play-offs, which Loughnane had announced as the least of his ambitions last month. Joyce hinted Sunday's defeat wasn't to Loughnane's liking, although he wasn't about to recount what it was he exactly said in any detail.

"Sure we just had a bit of a chat," said Joyce, "and talked about where things went wrong. That would be natural enough for any team to do . . . It was one of those days, in that sometimes you can learn more from a defeat than a victory. Over the course of the game though I think Dublin did work harder for it, and full credit to them for getting the win in the end. It's up to us now to learn from it, and push on for next weekend. We've got two very difficult games coming up, against Tipperary on Sunday and Kilkenny on Sunday week, and it is very important for us to try to win those two, and make the play-offs of the league."

Dublin's 2-7 to 1-8 victory remains the first big surprise of the league, although it wasn't entirely unexpected given their draw with Kilkenny in the previous round. Joyce says no one in Galway had underestimated them.

"No, I don't think so anyway. We definitely weren't complacent in any way going into the game. So I wouldn't put it down to that. Dublin just worked harder than we did, and they were well worth their victory. And I'm not surprised to see they've improved so much. We'd been hearing a lot about the effort they were putting in and all the work going on in development, and that's showing now. They drew with Kilkenny before the played us, so that showed what they were capable of, and I think they are going to be a formidable opposition for anyone, especially anyone who goes to Parnell Park to play them. They've a good record up there. I remember we played then there three years ago and it was only in the last 10 or 15 minutes that we pulled away."

Back on the home turf of Pearse Stadium this Sunday, Galway will be fired up to beat Tipperary and secure the points necessary to make the play-offs. They still top Division One B ahead of Tipperary on points difference, with the winners of the group gaining an automatic semi-final place, while second and third go into the quarter-finals.

"That has been the plan, to make the play-offs," added Joyce. "And that still is the plan. From Galway's point of view the further we get into the league the better it is, simply because we don't come into the championship until much later on. So making the semi-final or final is very important. That's our aim and that hasn't changed. We need to work hard on getting the results over the next two weekends to do that. I wouldn't pinpoint one thing we need to improve on after the Dublin game. It was more a combination of things that didn't go right on the day. We need to take stock of that.

"But I think from a training point of view everything has been going well. There has been a great attitude at training and the lads have been very honest about it. It's just about taking everything we're doing in training and packing that into the 70 minutes."