Galway star flourishing ahead after putting injury nightmare behind him
If a shortlist for Hurler of the Year was being compiled right now, Cathal Mannion would surely be on it.
In his four appearances in the Championship, he has a haul of 2-43, 1-15 of it from play, though his contribution amounts to much more than that of the totals in brackets after his name.
Even on their first day out, as Kilkenny rinsed them at UPMC Nowlan Park, winning by 12 points in the end, Mannion still emerged with 0-10, 0-4 from play.
He hit 2-8 when they bounced back against Offaly the following Saturday and a whopping 0-17, 0-6 from play, as they gathered real momentum against Wexford.
He impressed again against Dublin two weeks ago to set up a Kilkenny rematch in Sunday's Leinster final. He was rested for the Antrim game between the pivotal Wexford and Dublin clashes, and it's easy to see why.
It's a game that Galway were always likely to win and Mannion has endured too many injury issues in recent years to take unnecessary risks, even if he's satisfied that he's got on top of it now.
'My Achilles was at me for three years probably, and then I was getting other injuries from that,' he explains. 'Obviously, as a player, it's hugely frustrating when you can't get a run, so I had probably two years there of just on and off injuries. I got a bit of procedure done in the winter, and it's definitely helped and cleared it up.'
Achilles injuries, by their nature, have a tendency to continually flare up.
'Yeah, like you're putting all your weight and so on on it, and then as a result, I was pulling hamstrings and so on. You couldn't get a run, and you'd feel you're coming back, and then get another setback and whatever. Yeah, I'm delighted to have it behind me, hopefully.'
Last year, Mannion played in Galway's opening two Championship games before injury struck again, ruling him out of the defeat to Wexford and win over Antrim. He could only come off the bench against Dublin when the game was going away from them as they were dumped out of the Championship.
'When you're getting injuries like that, with the way the season is now, you're going to miss probably a large chunk of it, and definitely two games, probably. From a supporter's viewpoint, I don't know, but as a player, I was hugely frustrated.'
Mannion has a pair of Leinster medals and All-Ireland and League titles from 2017, but it's been barren enough for a few years now, with a shared League title from 2021 all he has to show for the last six seasons.
'We don't have too many medals in our panel, and obviously you don't want to be finishing in the Championship this time of the year.
'We know every year is different, and we have new players coming through all the time. You can't dwell on what's gone in the past, to be honest.'
Two years ago, they were on the brink of a Leinster title only for Kilkenny's Cillian Buckley popped up for a sensational winning goal at the death. The ball had popped into Buckley's hand from a rushed kicked clearance from Mannion's brother, Padraic.
'It was a difficult day. It was disappointing, obviously, the way we lost it. It was just disappointing the way it finished. We moved on from the game fairly quickly.
'It's not going to be in our heads, to be honest, coming into Sunday. It's two years ago, it's a different team, different players to a certain extent. That's not going to have any bearing on us.'
Mannion is one of a dwindling number of survivors from Galway's last All-Ireland eight years ago and, at 30, he still has time to add another.
'Of course you'd love a second one. It's only a Leinster final as of now, you're not thinking that far but as you look back, when you finish up, of course you'd want to have a second or a third or as many All-Ireland medals as you can. It's something we'd love to get back to.'
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RTÉ News
33 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
Heimir Hallgrimsson believes confidence growing in Ireland squad
The momentum continues to build for Heimir Hallgrimsson's Republic of Ireland team as the World Cup qualifying campaign edges closer. No victory at Aviva Stadium to add to the back-to-back wins in March, yet a hard-fought draw against a highly ranked Senegal side will certainly add to the growing confidence in this side ahead of the vital autumn games. Despite the fact that most of this Ireland squad have been idle for some weeks, and the starting eleven and formation had a large element of the experimental, the team responded to the manager's demand for a performance. Ireland took the game to Senegal from the opening exchanges and it was evident that Kasey McAteer was out to "rock the boat"; the Leicester winger looking very lively early on, whether hugging the touchline or bursting inside from the right flank. Jack Taylor was another handed his first start in a green jersey, asked to link midfield and attack, staying close to striker Adam Idah throughout the first period, and evidently working hard out of possession. Ireland's gameplan was aimed at exploiting the flanks, while quickly switching play to create space inside the Senegal half, and it was working well throughout those opening 45 minutes with the final delivery, perhaps, the limiting factor when it came to goalscoring opportunities. Will Smallbone flashed a shot wide in the 18th minute, and then three minutes later, the opening goal came, as McAteer firmly put his name in the conversation for the upcoming campaign. It was a well-worked goal that appeared to have a training ground ring to it, as the corner was delivered deep to the back post, and while Matt Doherty and Dara O'Shea appeared to be competing for the same ball, the latter's header back to the edge allowed Ryan Manning to flick it back into the mix. 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So by the time the saturation of substitutes flooded the pitch, Ireland were holding on admirably, while getting the competitive test that they craved with tougher days ahead when they battle for top spot with Portugal and Hungary. Ireland had five substitutes on the pitch when Senegal finally secured their equaliser, which took a certain amount of gloss off the performance, and while the manager was happy overall, he was surely ruing the fact that his side were unable to hold out for the win. "Our collective defence was good," said Hallgrimsson, speaking at the post match press conference. "We must recognise that this is a world-class team, and at times when we were defending without the ball, made them look quite average. "But mostly happy that they didn't create a whole lot of scoring chances. Caoimh made one or two good saves but apart from that I don't think he needed to do too much in this game and that is pleasing. "To be able to play against such a strong attacking team, with so much individual quality, and not concede a lot of goalscoring chances." The manager was full of praise for the man of the moment, McAteer, describing the goalscorer as a "clever footballer with a good footballing brain". "If you have watched Kasey, he has got a run for Leicester at the end of the season so you can see his progress in his club, and he brought that now into the national team. "That is always the answer you would like to have when you try out new players. "It was his first start for Ireland. So a really good first start for him. He is a confident player on the ball. He has speed, good dribbling technique and if we can isolate him one-on-one that is his strength." And the manager sees that confidence growing throughout the squad, which augers well for the September international window where Ireland open their campaign at home to Hungary before travelling to Yerevan to take on Armenia. "I think it is growing," said Hallgrimsson. "The decisions at this level need to be quick. If you are too late you are always punished at this level. "Let's be honest, we're not one of the best teams in the world and this is how we need to play against teams that will dominate possession. "We need to wait for our chances and take them when they come. In this area, confidence is growing. "We will need to be patient, these steps are taken small steps at a time, but this was really pleasing because if we wouldn't have done this as well as we did, we would have suffered against this team. "So that is confidence for me, to be able to play good teams without possession and doing that for longer periods of time." While Hallgrimsson was taking the positives, he was also clearly disappointed about certain aspects of the performance, leaving more work to do as he continues to mould the team into a competitive unit ahead of the World Cup campaign. "Again, conceding goals from crosses too many times, and in this case we were too passive in the cross. "We didn't attack the ball when the cross came and it has happened before. That is a slight confidence thing."
The 42
an hour ago
- The 42
Clear signs that Hallgrímsson's messages are coming through loud and clear for Ireland players
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O'Shea had the licence to be that aggressive and quick with his closing down rather than simply passing the man on to someone in midfield who might not have had the same momentum in their stride to keep Senegal going backwards. That level of freedom for players in the moment to assess such a situation and take on the responsibility is another cornerstone of what Ireland are trying to achieve under Heimir Hallgrímsson. It was evident again two minutes after the re-start when Jason Knight anticipated a breaking ball around 35 or so yards from the opponents' goal and straight away zipped a pass to Will Smallbone so his fellow midfielder. Advertisement He let the ball run across his body, took one more touch to set himself for a shot centrally but directed it far too close to Yehvann Diouf and that allowed the goalkeeper make a comfortable save. Still, it was sharp and positive and done with purpose; exactly what management asked of the players. By that stage, of course, Ireland led after Kasey McAteer's 21st minute goal. It was his first for the Boys in Green, coming on the occasion of his fifth cap and full debut. Friendly fire, perhaps, but if it can act as a catalyst for the Leicester City winger to make a telling impact in the World Cup qualifiers to come from September through November than it will be recalled as a pivotal moment. Again, he showed anticipation and impressive instincts to get his goal, staying on the move after Ryan Manning – excellent all evening in an advanced central role and also on the left when required – kept the corner kick alive to connect with a deft header, and following up Diouf's superb save with a calm touch and sharp swivel to fire low through the legs of Abdoulaye Seck. Nathan Collins wins a header against Boulaye Dia. Laszlo Geczo / INPHO Laszlo Geczo / INPHO / INPHO Just as encouraging as that telling impact in the box was a piece of defending seven minutes before half-time that was the second element of the gameplan: stop Senegal's counter attacks. That was the second message repeated around camp all week, and when Habib Diarra looked as though he was about to break free down the left, McAteer's willingness to sprint back and nick possession drew applause around Aviva Stadium. Most pleased would have been Hallgrímsson and assistant John O'Shea as well as coach Paddy McCarthy. There were three more clear examples of Ireland players ensuring they followed the doctrine laid out. Captain Nathan Collins led by example in the ninth minute when Manning looked to have been bundled over down the left after receiving a throw in, play was waved on and with the Brentford centre back advanced to try and get on the end of a ball into the box, he ended up sprinting 40 or so yards back to stop Senegal making it out of their own half. Job done. Nine minutes later Knight and Smallbone also combined with pressure to hurry Krepin Diatta into a misplace pass from the centre when there was a break on down the left and numbers supporting centrally. Best of all, and perhaps the strongest nod yet to Hallgrímsson finding out who among his squad have the capability of being that 'bastard in the team' that he spoke of when he took charge, came on 56 minutes. After Senegal cleared an Ireland corner, Knight picked up the ball around 40 yards out and adhered to the crowd's roars of 'shooooooooot.' 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It undone so much good work in terms of the result but, crucially, it was a performance that highlighted how Hallgrímsson's messages are coming through loud and clear with World Cup qualifying on the horizon.
The 42
an hour ago
- The 42
'This is a world class team and there were times when we made them look quite average'
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