You could be forgiven for likening Joe Sheridan to Claudio Bravo.
The much-derided Manchester City goalkeeper has some truly abysmal shot-saving stats. While Sheridan does not have Jamie Carragher tearing him a new one, his own manager – the man whose idea it was to convert a retired Meath forward into a current Meath goalkeeper – has admitted shot stopping is not the convert’s forté.
Just one thing…https://t.co/gBxCnOvdO8
— GAA JOE (@GAA__JOE) January 16, 2017
“The shot saving you would maybe worry about,” he told SportsJOE on Saturday. “His positional sense is good. He came off line and forced lads to take shots from angles that if he stayed on line they were goals.”
Last weekend’s draw with Laois was Sheridan’s first appearance between the sticks as he shares O’Byrne Cup game time with Paddy O’Rourke and Conor McHugh.
With Louth visiting Navan for Sunday’s semi-final, Sheridan joked that it may be time for O’Rourke or McHugh to step in.
“Maybe one of the other lads would be better off playing in goals this weekend,” he told TV3 News, in reference to his controversial winning goal in the 2010 Leinster football final.
“Look, at the end of the day it is about doing what you can for the team, I think I have what it takes to compete at the highest level and help Meath along the way somehow.”
Frozen out by Mick O’Dowd in 2013, Sheridan’s only route back into the Royals set-up would appear to be as a goalkeeper and, while he admits it was not his idea, it was not that bizarre a call by McEntee, who must have known Sheridan’s senior football career started out as a teenage custodian for Senechalstown.
“I started down here in this football pitch years ago. That is where I started my senior football career,” said Sheridan, who says the mindset of a teenage club goalkeeper is very different to that of a intercounty hopeful.
“When I was 15, you were nearly mad for people to come in and take shots on you but it is a wee bit different now,” he added, suggesting he has to be cutthroat about the business now.
“You just have to accept it, it is like playing full-forward – you are coming in one-on-one on the keeper, you are expecting to score a goal. It is pretty much the same.”
Joe Sheridan on @TV3Ireland News. Admitted to surprise at being recalled as a keeper. As a keeper, I am surprised at all the running. pic.twitter.com/RlWoocKNLQ
— Mikey Stafford (@me_stafford) January 18, 2017
