WITH THE CLOCK reading 75.07 in Croke Park on Sunday, Padraic Mannion booted the sliotar out of the Galway defence with his team two points clear and on the cusp of landing a Leinster title.
Five seconds later Cillian Buckley had deposited the ball in the bottom corner of the net in front of the Davin End to ensure Kilkenny were crowned champions.
A stunning shift of advantage.
Mannion was in Waterford today, at the De La Salle GAA club grounds in Gracedieu, as the All-Ireland senior hurling championship was officially launched into action.
Two days later he was still processing the ‘freak’ chain of events that saw Galway’s hopes of delivering silverware smashed.
“The ball was on the corner and I was on Eoin Cody. I wasn’t in the corner. I was not in front of the goal. Just to the side of the goal. (John) Donnelly hit it across and the two of us contested for it. It hit my hand. I could have got it. It popped out of my hand and I lost my hurl.
“Maybe my hands were probably a bit sweaty and greasy as well because it was so warm.
“And it just slid out of my hand, the hurley.
“I could see a Kilkenny player in my left eyeline and I didn’t really want to kick it towards him so I just said I would kick it as far as I could. And I couldn’t have connected any nicer with it and put it straight into Cillian Buckley’s hands.
“I saw him (Cillian Buckley) as the play was in the corner. I looked out and I saw him out there at that stage.
“When the ball came out I don’t know, I probably didn’t know that he was still there.
“All the small things, sure you could drive yourself mad thinking about them all. Just a bit of a freak thing that happened
“It’s in the past now.”
GOAL KILKENNY - Cillian Buckley with the last, dramatic act of the game snatches victory for Kilkenny in the Leinster final. The Cats win 4-21 to 2-26
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Mannion watched back the footage of the goal as the Galway team bus departed Croke Park.
“Straight away after it I was thinking I had made a terrible error that I kicked it but then looking back I probably wouldn’t change a whole lot about it either.
“ I don’t know would I have done anything differently? If I tried to flick it up and lost it you’d be saying the same thing. That’s the way it is. Such fine margins.
“If you gave them a line ball though, TJ or someone would have chipped it straight into the square. You don’t want to do that either.
“It’s easy looking back now sure. Kilkenny had it and they lost it. Then we had it and we lost it. Then they had it and they’d lose it again. You just have to try and learn from it if you are in that scenario again and that’s all you can do.
“Go and get ready and get on the horse again.”
The Ahascragh-Fohenagh man has the experience lodged in the bank, not to dwell on the incident.
“If I was younger I would say it would probably affect me more, whereas now I am nearly one of the older players in experience.
“I have nearly already shifted my focus to getting back training this evening and getting back to the quarter-finals.
“If I had scuffed it maybe they wouldn’t have got a goal. But sure that’s it like. I am old enough now to be able to take it and put a positive spin on it, nearly to go again.”
Galway’s next assignment will move swiftly into view. They face Tipperary or Offaly in the All-Ireland quarter-final on Saturday 24 June.
“I am just talking about myself now. I am kind of moving on. I know there are other lads (that) might take a few days longer. Ultimately we are still in the championship. It’s not the end of the world.
“We lost a game that we were in a position to win.
“But the flip side of it is we showed huge resilience, huge character to come back.
“Claw it back against Kilkenny who are a really tough team to play against so it’s not all doom and gloom either. We are lucky to be still there.”
