John Cleary full of praise for Steven Sherlock after kicking winner against Cavan

Cork boss John Cleary was delighted with his side’s resilience as they kicked the last eight scores to beat Cavan in their opening Allianz Division 2 Football League encounter.

The Rebels defeated Cavan on a scoreline of 0-24 to 2-17 at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Sunday afternoon.

Cork looked like they would end up empty-handed, trailing by seven points with just over 10 minutes remaining, but the Leesiders never panicked.

A Steven Sherlock two-point free right at the end completed the remarkable comeback.

“We are very happy with the two points, seven points down, it didn’t look like it was going to be our day,” Cleary said post-match.

“We played in fits and starts. We thought we were getting good scores but I was just afraid we were going to start maybe panic a little bit.

“A couple of wayward shots but in fairness the lads settled down. Two-pointers were crucial and I thought we finished very well.

“When the game was there for the taking, we drove at it and drove at it and got over the line. Other days we’ve been in the position where, I think back to Down last year, we were in more or less the same position and we came out of it with a loss.

“So today we'll definitely take the victory. I thought Cavan, for a lot of it, played outstandingly well. We couldn’t cope with them.

“But look, we finished well and got over the line so we’re thrilled with that.” 

Cleary had full faith when Sherlock stepped up for the two-point free with a minute left that he would bisect the posts. The St Finbarr’s star certainly made an impression when he came on.

“In fairness, if there was any player we wanted on the ball, it was Steven, particularly with the season he had last season and the form he’s in," the Cork boss says.

“He was the man we definitely wanted on that kick. Fair dues to him, it was a pressure kick. The game was on the line.

“Also, the crowd really got behind the team. It was a very, very small margin. Another day we’d have been coming out of here licking our wounds.

“But as I said, we’ve done that in the past. Any day you don’t play to your potential and get a victory, you will take that. There’s a lot to work on and we’ll go back to the drawing board.” 

Cork are up and running as they head for Louth next weekend for the second league game next Sunday.

“We wouldn’t be happy at all conceding 2-17. In fairness, Cavan are a very strong running team. They have very strong runners and got two goals when we looked maybe in control of the game.

“A couple of times, poor shot selection, poor passing and Cavan were going down and picking off scores.

“Any game you have at home you have to try and win it. We had targeted this one when the draw was made.

“All the teams in this division are very, very competitive. So every game is going to be very, very competitive but this was a game we targeted that we should be winning at home because we have a few tough away days coming up.

“We can work on the performance part of it and hopefully the next day against Louth we can improve. Ardee is a very, very tough place but it’s a small bit easier going there now with two points in the bag.”