Mannion: Championship is more like a marathon now

Mannion burst onto the scene as a wristy and hardy hurler in 2015. Three years later he was a two-time All-Star, two-time Leinster champion and had an All-Ireland medal. 

MARATHON, NOT A SPRINT: Padraic Mannion of Galway. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Two points up with the clock in the red, Pádraic Mannion kicked at a sliotar in desperation and found himself in despair. The strike was sweet. Too sweet.

Kilkenny’s Cillian Buckley caught it clean and sent the ball into the bottom corner. It meant Kilkenny secured their fourth consecutive Leinster championship. Galway’s drought now stretches back five years.