We’re not one Mann team
BRENNAN PRIDE AS PAUL IS RULED OUT
LEINSTER FOOTBALL FINAL
KILMACUD CROKES boss Robbie Brennan says they proved they’re not a one-man team by winning the Leinster final without Paul Mannion.
Six-time All-ireland winner Mannion underwent knee surgery on Friday and looks set to miss out on the All-ireland series too.
The in-form forward’s absence wasn’t felt at Croke Park as Tom Fox delivered a man of the match display, striking 0-5, while Rory O’carroll led a watertight defence.
Naas didn’t score at all in the second-half and suffered more from the loss of their own star forward Darragh Kirwan who hit 1-2 in the semi-finals.
The Crokes manager confirmed that three-time All-star Mannion was advised by medics late in the week to undergo surgery.
It was a blow but also an opportunity to show that they’re not a one-man team. Brennan said: “There probably is a narrative that we can’t win without Paul and we were probably looking at that ourselves and saying, ‘Well, let’s see, can we do it without him?’
“That last time against Thomas Davis that he went off injured, we didn’t win. So this was a big test to see could we do it? We did it this time but it mightn’t be the same outcome the next day so we’ll see.”
Brennan said he’ll be heading for Ballina today to watch the Connacht final between Padraig Pearses and Knockmore.
Crokes will play the winners in the All-ireland semifinals on the weekend of January 29/30.
Fox kicked the first two points of the game and Naas only scored three points from open play and went that entire secondhalf without scoring.
The Kildare side were just 0-7 to 0-8 down at halftime but that was the end of the line for the underdogs who struggled with Crokes’ high press and increased intensity after the break.