Veteran O’Connor ready to make a point against Dubs

What’s seldom is wonderful for Donncha O’Connor right now. Tomorrow’s semi-final represents just his third start of the campaign.

Brian Hurley might be the ever-present but O’Connor’s roles have been cameos. They might have been more substantial but for a couple of niggling lower limb injuries.

“I’ve been trying to get rid of them,” O’Connor said. “If you miss one day, you’re going to have sit it out and wait your opportunity. That’s just the way it is. That’s just the way Brian [Cuthbert] seems to work it and that’s what’s after happening the last few weeks.”

When he has started — against Kildare and Mayo — he’s been sharp, his turn at centre-forward against the Lilywhites his best showing. It’s where he is named to face Dublin but the Ballydesmond man, known more as an inside forward, pays little mind to the position.

“It doesn’t mean a whole pile to me. I’ve played there for the club, the division and stuff but I haven’t thought much about the position. I’m just happy to get on there.”

Turning 33 this month, O’Connor saw younger team-mates step away from the inter-county scene before Christmas but a similar idea never entered his head.

Part of the reason for that was a county intermediate club quarter-final against Grenagh that was postponed until late October because of Tom Kenny’s involvement with the hurlers in the All-Ireland SHC final replay.

“By the time we got our club game played, it was the Bank Holiday October weekend, and by the time I had even thought of it, Brian was onto me and he was making his panel. I didn’t think about it, I just kept going.”

From the outside looking in, there’s a world of difference in how Cork are playing compared to the style espoused under Conor Counihan’s charge.

Maybe O’Connor is standing too closely but he can’t distinguish much contrast between then and now: “It’s more or less about doing the same thing, make yourself available for the pass coming in because the boys outside are looking to give it to the next line. You just have to be ready for it.

“We have played some good parts in a lot of our matches but I wouldn’t get carried away because there were a few times when we have been poor during games. We got lucky in a few games: Derry missed a free to equalise with the last kick of the game. We weren’t overly impressive against Westmeath either even though we played well in the second half. You need that bit of luck and we’ve been getting it but we’re going in the right direction.”

Having worked with Counihan and his backroom team so long, O’Connor acknowledges building up a relationship with Cuthbert’s crew needed time. As they have been at the coal-face as players, he admits their message is coming through loud and clear.

“It took us a while to get used to them but they’re very helpful. Ronan [McCarthy] does a lot of our drills. He brings you into game situations and he’d be just explaining how to defend and what’s the best way to do it.

“When the likes of him are telling you these things, you can recall them. When they’re telling you something, you know it’s not so long ago that they were involved so you can say ‘these guys know what they’re on about’. You’ll listen a little bit more that way.”

What both he and Cork know is they can’t expect to get away with grinding down Dublin tomorrow as they did in the 2010 All-Ireland semi-final, when O’Connor’s dead-ball skills were so crucial.

“Panels are getting stronger and bigger. You can run a team down but then they bring two or three lads in and trying to run them down is tough when they’re fresh and just as good as those who started. It comes down to concentrating and cutting down mistakes then.

“Trying to run down a team can’t be done as easily as it used to. Everyone says the less mistakes you make the more chances you have of winning. It’s a cliche but it’s right. Whoever wins at the weekend, I can bet it’ll come down to the two teams who make the least mistakes. When you’re tired towards the end of games, that’s when you know you have to concentrate more.”

Should Dublin lose, they’ve an eight-week gap to their championship opener. If Cork lose, it’s 10 weeks. Winning a league title hardly hurt Cork under Counihan but there’s now more at stake in getting to a final besides applying psychological pressure on the All-Ireland champions.

“It sounds like a long time — 10 weeks — and you could knock it down to eight weeks just by winning a game.

It would shorten it a good bit. At the start of the year, we would have taken where we are now so it’s a bonus to have this extra game as it is.”