Padraic Mannion says he wouldn’t have done anything differently about his kicked effort that fell to Cillian Buckley, who blasted a dramatic last gasp winning goal in Sunday’s Leinster final.
At the time Mannion felt he had made “a terrible error,” but after viewing it again he changed his mind after the “freak” incident.
Buckley’s major left Galway heartbroken after a series of failed attempts to clear the ball in the corner by a number of players.
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Speaking about the goal at the Hurling Championship launch in the De La Salle club (Waterford) this afternoon, All Star defender Mannion ruefully reflected that he couldn’t have caught the ball any better.
Mannion says he would have taken the blow a lot harder when he was younger but that after watching the video of the incident on the team bus on Sunday evening, he is already moving on.
“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,” he said.
“It is just one of those things that happens.
“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.”
Mannion says he caught the kick “probably too good.”
“If I had scuffed it, maybe they wouldn’t have got a goal,” he added. “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.”
Some of Mannion’s colleagues might have dealt with it earlier and struck the ball over the sideline to relative safety.
“If you gave them a line ball though, TJ (Reid) or someone would have chipped it straight into the square,” says Mannion.
“You don’t know. 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.”
Mannion’s trouble started when he lost his hurley going for the initial ball inside with Eoin Cody.
“I contested with my hurl kind of in front of me and just whatever way we collided - maybe my hands were probably a bit sweaty and greasy as well because it was so warm,” he continued.
“And it just slid out of my hand, the hurley. I don’t know really.
“It (the ball) hit my hand. I could have got it. It popped out of my hand. All the small things.
“Sure you could drive yourself mad thinking about them all. Just a freak.
“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.
“Sure that’s the way it goes. I even watched it back. I don’t know would I have done anything differently really in a way because 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.
“Your ifs and buts. You just have to move on and try and get ready for the next day.
“It’s only natural to be disappointed for a day or two. Everybody is going to be different.
“I am just talking about myself now. I am kind of moving on. I know there are other lads 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.”
Mannion says the flip side is that Galway showed “huge resilience” and “huge character” to get back into a game where they trailed by eight points at one stage.
“(To) claw it back against Kilkenny who are a really tough team to play against so it’s not all doom and gloom either,” he said.
“Just everyone was very disappointed straight after.
“We put ourselves in a good position and just didn't see it out ultimately.
“It was hard to take, but the good thing about it in hurling and sport is that there is always another game and we are lucky we are still in the Championship.
“Our mind has sort of shifted and we have no choice but to do that really.”
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