O’Kane now has a head for heights
Managers typically deploy motivational tools to inspire their underdogs in such mismatches and the grainy footage shown by Eddie Howe to his squad of the club’s famous 1984 cup win over holders Manchester United has supplied a taster of what can be achieved for the Championship newcomers.
This afternoon’s occasion, played before a sold-out Goldsands Stadium, befits two Irish players back centre stage following lulls in their careers that could easily have turned permanent had their willpower levels receded.
Less than four years ago, Derryman O’Kane trudged out of Everton’s training ground bewildered by the reasons given for his release.
Although the midfielder is an inch taller than impish 5’7” Spanish playmaker Andrés Iniesta, height was cited by David Moyes as an excuse not to extend his contract.
“But I wasn’t Spanish, was I?” he quips when recalling the agony he endured.
London-born Arter was cut loose by Charlton Athletic, despite making his debut at just 16 in the FA Cup.
Both retreated to the margins – O’Kane signing for Irish League outfit Coleraine, Arter dropping into non-league with Woking – confident but uncertain of a second coming.
Fast-forward two years and the pair’s launchpad unites them at League One outfit Bournemouth.
Like their two comeback kids, the club has revived against the odds, having shaken off a period in administration around the same time O’Kane and Arter faced a crossroads too.
Together, the achieved promotion at the first attempt and, today, their ambition extends to destroying Liverpool’s likely sole chance of silverware this season.
O’Kane’s status as a former Toffee trainee and boyhood Liverpool fan, along with Arter’s link to Steven Gerrard through his brother-in-law Scott Parker, laces the lunchtime tie with just two more sub-plots.
“It is the biggest game of my career and I intend making the most of it,” said 23-year-old O’Kane, who defected from Northern Ireland to the Republic in 2012.
“Getting to this point has taken many years of hard work and graft, but I still want to go higher. Testing myself against some of the best players in the country like Gerrard and Luis Suarez can only be of help to that aim.”
Arter, a year older than his midfield partner, is also keen to maximise the plum tie in order to advance his stock for club and country.
A regular in the Irish jersey up till U19 level, having declared through his grandparents at 15, Arter wants to end his six-year hiatus from the Ireland scene.
“Getting international recognition has never left my mind over the years,” he admitted. “Now that I’m playing at a decent level in the Championship, I can only keep doing my best and see if it’s enough.”
Dedication to their trade, brushing off a bodyblow or two along the way, has certainly been enough so far for O’Kane and Arter to thrive in the most trying of circumstances.
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