THE TOP SCORER in the championship, the match-winner as his club claim senior football glory and recently recalled to the inter-county stage.
Steven Sherlock could appreciate the significance of an afternoon like Sunday in Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
St Finbarr’s reigned after their lethal attacker shot over the winning point in injury-time. It capped off a stunning Cork senior championship in the scoring stakes for Sherlock and a notable return to the football limelight.
The 24-year-old featured in the Cork ranks across the 2018 and 2019 seasons but has not been involved since the first Covid-enforced shutdown in March 2020.
New manager Keith Ricken has opened the door for a return for Sherlock after the forward has enjoyed the opportunity to focus solely on club matters.
“There’s nothing better, I absolutely love the Barrs. It’s an old cliche but I love my club, I love everything about it. The people out there are just an unbelievable family. Everything about the club is just fantastic and it’s been great for me.
“I got the call off Keith (Ricken, new Cork manager), so I’m looking forward to going back there now as well.
“Obviously I worked hard. We got a new strength and conditioning coach in Brian Roche, carried on from Kevin Healy, done fantastic work with us. We just kept going and kept going. I work on my fitness and a lot of things, so thankfully we got over the line.”
Club team-mate Michael Shields is well-versed in the county game and isn’t hesitant in praising Sherlock.
“He’s a class act. The fact that he wasn’t in with Cork was shocking, straight up like. He’s one of the best forwards in Cork.
“Himself and Brian Hurley there could make a good partnership up front. But look, next year now hopefully he’ll get a good shot at it and deservingly so.”
Sherlock’s threat had been well-advertised before this Cork final. Having shot 1-14 in the group games, his 0-7 tally on Sunday meant his scoring return had rocketed to 2-27 across three matches in the knockout stages.
Former Cork defender Tom Clancy paid close attention to him in the final with Sherlock having fired 2-10 in the semi-final classic against Castlehaven.
If he started slow on this occasion, his input increased as the match progressed and he was free to whip over the point from the right wing that settled the issue in favour of St Finbarr’s against a well-drilled and fierce challenge from Clonakilty.
It was the latest example of a county final where Sherlock’s scoretaking was impressive after 0-8 in the 2017 draw with Nemo Rangers, 2-7 in that replay and 1-8 in the 2018 victory over Duhallow.
“I know Eoghan McGreevey is the type of fella that loves getting on the ball and he’ll look to do the right thing all the time,” said the St Finbarr’s forward.
“So I knew if I got on a bit of space that he’d give me the ball.
“Thankfully I got on it and popped it over. It’s every boy’s dream to kick a winning point in a county final, so thankfully it went over.
“Tom was fantastic, he was probably one of the hardest fellas I’ve marked all year. He’s super fit, very strong, he’s a hard guy to play against. Great respect for Tom, I really enjoyed playing with him when we were in with Cork.”
The collection of a county title sees St Finbarr’s build on their group’s breakthrough in 2018.
That generates a sense of accomplishment with the realisation that they must now try to push on in Munster.
“I just can’t credit enough every single lad in that dressing-room there,” says Sherlock.
“They’re unbelievable, they make my job look easy. Frees, breaking the line, they’re fantastic and they’re a pleasure to deal with. The lads were brilliant at the back.
“In 2018, everybody was telling us to go get the one and you can carry on. Thankfully they have been right, we got the one and we have two now.
“It’s kind of a monkey off our back, we can really say that we’re a great team and now it’s time to push it on. The Munster club, we lost in 2018, it’s time to rectify ourselves now.”
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