Donncha determined to be the main man again

THE emphatic nature of their victory and their expansive style of play were similar to the form they had produced in 2009.

Two years ago Cork blazed a trail through the championship before coming up short at the final hurdle whereas last season saw them endure a series of white-knuckle rides before claiming Sam Maguire.

Then last Saturday in Croke Park they cut loose, swatting Down aside by 12 points in their qualifier tie. It was a significant performance and one that stemmed from a sense within the squad that they had failed to do themselves justice three weeks previously in the Munster final.

No one was in that frame of mind more than attacker Donncha O’Connor.

“We let the jersey down and we let the county down in Killarney. It’s as simple as that. The way we played in that first-half was terrible. And to be honest it was only a couple of fellas like Alan O’Connor and (Paul) Kerrigan who drove us on in the second-half. You can’t be doing that. Personally, the first-half went okay but in the second-half I only touched the ball twice. Once was to kick a free wide, the other was to score the penalty.

“I knew I had to start contributing more. So I was fairly fired up for last Saturday.”

That motivation was reflected in the standard of football they produced. O’Connor contributed 1-7 in his most complete attacking display in Croke Park since the 2007 All-Ireland semi-final against Meath.

In the interim O’Connor has had several fine moments on Jones Road, the brilliant left-foot point from distance against Kerry in the 2008 semi-final reply, the glacial nerve he displayed from deadball situations in last year’s semi-final against Dublin, and the vital first-half point he kicked under pressure in last September’s decider that propelled Cork into the game.

But last Saturday was a day when he bossed the game up front and set the tone for those around him. With Cork’s attacking resources severely drained, they needed O’Connor’s leadership. Watching Daniel Goulding and Barry O’Driscoll carted off in a nine-minute first half spell made for surreal viewing for the Ballydesmond man.

He confesses that tomorrow will be odd without Goulding alongside him close to goal. They have followed similar paths in their progress to the top. They shared Sigerson Cup days with Cork IT and then back in July 2005, the pair fired a late spree of points that secured an All-Ireland JFC title against Meath in Portlaoise.

“It’ll be strange not starting alongside him. We’d have a good understanding. The benefit of that is knowing what runs each other will make and the goal I got last Saturday came from a super pass from him. Daniel never gets injured and it was fairly surreal to see him go off last week, and then Barry (O’Driscoll) gone within ten minutes after him. There’s not many of us left in the full-forward line but that’s why you have a big panel.”

O’Connor was the main man up front last week and Cork’s other key figure shares the same surname.

Alan O’Connor put in a towering performance at midfield and while his form starts to garner him more mainstream attention, within the Cork dressing-room his value has been well known.

“He’s the quiet man of the team”, says Donncha. “He doesn’t say a huge amount in the dressing-room, he just gets on with it out on the pitch. He does the little things that no one else notices. But people seem be sitting up now and realising how big a player he is.”

They’ll need his input tomorrow against Mayo. Coaching kids this week in Duhallow, O’Connor has been hearing plenty of talk about a potential All-Ireland semi-final showdown with Kerry. But he is blocking that out.

“People seem more interested in talking about the All-Ireland semi-final which is crazy really. That’s dangerous talk and I just block that out. Like last week anybody I talked to about the Galway and Waterford hurling match said that Galway were going to win it handy. We all know what happened there.

“So other people can think what they want but all I’m focusing on is Mayo.”