They’ll recall this one as the Austin Gleeson final
For a grade that appears in the crosshairs like a James Bond title sequence, U21 has much to recommend it, particularly in a spot like Walsh Park. The long-standing GAA belief that a large attendance in a smaller venue generates a terrific atmosphere (referred to by mathematicians as the Lost In Croke Park Equation) was borne out by the healthy crowd of 8,843 pushing up to the wire in the Waterford stadium.
For those within the whitewash, the particular terms of engagement at U21 prevailed for players and mentors alike. An inter-county manager at the grade has a particular mix of spiky expectations and constricted preparation with which to contend. He usually has players at his disposal who have thrived, never mind survived, at senior inter-county level, along with teenagers who may be finding the air just out of minor pretty thin.
