HE WAS IN the wars on the senior stage on Sunday but a gruesome ear injury was never going to prevent Austin Gleeson from lining out at U21 level last night.
After suffering a tear to his left ear in that game in Semple Stadium against Wexford, Gleeson put his injury woes aside to deliver a man-of-the-match display as Waterford were crowned Bord Gáis Energy Munster U21 hurling champions in Walsh Park.
“I didn’t feel it until after the game, a couple of people were congratulating me and kept slapping me on the ear.
“I was saying, ‘leave me alone, it’s sore!’. But when the adrenaline is going, you don’t feel a thing.
“It was a Munster final, I was never not going to play, never not going to come off.”
Gleeson was part of a history-making team as Waterford’s hurling fans witnessed the delivery of a Munster hurling triumph on their home soil for the first time.
“I’m absolutely speechless. It’s incredible to win it on our home patch. It’s a Munster title, thank God.
“The talent in that dressing-room, the work rate, it’s just absolutely phenomenal.
“Peter Hogan’s goal was key for us. Stephen (Bennett) brain and unbelievable skill to flick it over the head, and the finish from Peter was absolutely remarkable.
“We knew they’d be more physical than Clare and we had to step up to the plate. It’s just the stature of men we having in that dressing-room, it’s not boys any more, it’s men.”
The victory represented a special moment for Gleeson as he followed in the footsteps of fellow Waterford U21 heroes from his Mount Sion club in Pat McGrath (1974) and Tony Browne (1992)
“(It’s) absolutely remarkable to be put in the same category as those players. They were my idols growing up. I didn’t have the privilege of seeing Pat McGrath playing but I played with Ken (McGrath), I played with Tony.
“I grew up being those players in my back garden. To be standing in front of this crowd and them names standing there looking at us, congratulating us, it makes all the blood, sweat and tears worth it.”
And the win continues the rehabilitation project Waterford hurling has undergone since they were swept away by an avalanche of Tipperary goals in the Munster senior final.
“I think the Clare game at U21 was massive for us. It was said at half-time that day by a couple of players that we had serious hurt going into that game. We set our stall out that we weren’t going to feel that again this year.
“Clare was I think 19 points (win), Wexford was 11 and tonight it was 10. It’s just what we can do and if the players keep developing, God only knows where it can take us in future.
“This is going to give everyone a massive boost in the county. We just know we have a massive task ahead of us on Sunday week in Croke Park. We haven’t beaten Kilkenny in I don’t know how many years.
“No celebrations at all now. To be fair Derek was deciding but a few of the players stood up and said it’s too important. That’s the way it’s got to be.
“You could only have 10 years doing what you’re doing so you’ve plenty time for celebrating.”
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