Sheridan helps Ireland to European bronze
By Stephen Leonard
BALLYFERMOT man Dillon Sheridan was again among the star performers for Ireland Cerebral Palsy soccer team at the IFCPF European Championships in the Netherlands.
The Cherry Orchard striker, emerged the tournament’s joint top scorer on seven goals, helping Ireland to bronze after they beat the tournament hosts 2-1 in the third-place play-off.
Ballyfermot's Dillon Sheridan fired home seven goals for Ireland
Ireland won all of their four group games before coming undone against World champions Ukraine in the last four.
But they eased the pain of that loss by edging out the Dutch for the second time to finish among the medals.
“I think going over there, the first thing we wanted to do was win a medal,” Sheridan told The Echo.
“You’re looking at who you could possibly face in a semi final and there were the Ukraine, England and Russia that we could come up against, the Ukraine and Russia being full-time outfits.
“It’s very hard to look past those two teams and you’d expect them to be in the final so, for us is was about getting that medal. We achieved what would be expected of us I think.
“The older lads on the team who’ve been there for the last 13-14 seasons were saying it was the first time that they’ve been around when we’ve won all our group games,” he said.
Golden Boot
Sheridan, who won the Golden Boot at last year’s 2017 IFCPF CP Football World Championships in Argentina, certainly hit the ground running in this tournament, accounting for half of his side’s tally in their 8-0 demolition of Denmark.
“I finished joint top scorer on seven goals,” said Sheridan. “I probably should have had more, but I’ve had a long season with Cherry Orchard and I don’t think I was as fit as I could be going there.”
Sheridan played a huge part in in the Orchard finishing second to Crumlin United in the LSL Major Saturday ranks this season, scoring 21 goals for the Ballyfermot side.
“We are absolutely delighted,” said Ireland Head Coach Paul Breen at after the Dutch match. “Overall I think we deserved it not just for the performance today but across the tournament as a whole,” Breen said.
“We have progressed from a sixth place finish at the World Championships to a third place at the European Championships. It is no more than the players deserve for the work they’ve put in.
“Hopefully this will help raise the profile of CP football and encourage more players to take up the game.
“The funding from the FAI, Paralympics Ireland and Sport Ireland has been so important and without that then none of this would have been possible,” he said.
