Former Meath forward returns to senior squad… as a goalkeeper

Joe Sheridan may have thought his chance with the Meath footballers was gone.

The Seneschalstown man had nine seasons of senior football with the Royal County and, without fail, left everything out on the pitch. The Dubs certainly knew all about him. As a forward, Sheridan knew how to make his presence felt. One of his most important contributions to Meath's cause was also one of the most controversial GAA moments of the past decade. Faced with losing the 2010 Leinster Football Final to Louth, Sheridan ploughed forward and got his team a match-winning goal. The fact that he threw the ball over the goal-line almost saw the game end in a riot and referee Martin Sludden had to be escorted from the pitch after the final whistle. That Leinster title was the high point for Sheridan, the inter-county forward. He was axed from the 2013 Meath squad and has not featured since. However, a couple of outings as goalkeeper with club side Seneschalstown has seen him included in the wider Meath squad for 2017 by new manager Andy McEntee. Sheridan will provide competition for goalkeepers Paddy O'Rourke and Conor McHugh. The Irish Independent report that the 32-year-old will also be joined by Bryan Menton and, most likely, Adam Flanagan in the extended panel. While Sheridan has done well in club football as an outright shot-stopper, sticking a handy player between the sticks was an option we witnessed earlier this year by Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney. Paul Courtney was drafted in, having only had two weeks of practice in training, to keep nets for Armagh in their Ulster football clash with Cavan. He was effectively a sweeper 'keeper but featured way up the pitch in attacks too. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/736943211554426880 Armagh lost 2-16 to 0-14. It will be interesting to see how Sheridan is deployed if he gets the selection nod.