Austin Gleeson red takes gloss off five-goal Waterford's stroll into Allianz Hurling League final

Waterford look set to be without Austin Gleeson for the Allianz National Hurling League Division 1 decider against Cork following his late straight red card in Sunday's semi-final trouncing of Wexford at UPMC Nowlan Park.

Liam Cahill's charges terrorised their neighbours as the inspirational Gleeson pocketed two goals en route to a 3-9 to 0-10 interval advantage.

And the Déise were unrelenting as they made the league final for the first time since 2019.

But most interest will now centre on Gleeson’s availability for the showpiece (next Saturday in Semple Stadium), which he will miss barring a successful appeal. He was dismissed late on when referee John Keenan consulted with his umpires, after appearing to jab his hurl back into Wexford defender Simon Donohoe following a Waterford wide.

While the sides traded the first two points, Waterford’s appetite for goals become crystal clear as Dessie Hutchinson twice forced early '65s, from the second of which Patrick Curran returned the Deise to the lead after four minutes (0-2 to 0-1).

But the Munster contenders eventually cracked the safe a minute later when Gleeson intercepted a Wexford puck-out and dashed in to arrow home an angled finish.

Despite Waterford’s feverish pace, Wexford managed to tie it n 0-7 to 1-4 after 17 minutes as Charlie McGuckin, Rory O’Connor (2), Damien Reck, Mikie Dwyer and Diarmuid O’Keeffe bridged the gap.

However, Waterford reasserted command in a flash as Gleeson netted his second goal after good work by Hutchinson.

What a pass from Dessie Hutchinson finished in a top class goal from Austin Gleeson for @WaterfordGAA v @OfficialWexGAA in the Allianz Hurling League Semi-Final #GAANOW pic.twitter.com/YRCNspP70X

And as Wexford hit the self-destruct button –