McHugh: Gooch is a “two-trick pony”; O’Donoghue one of the greatest

Former Donegal All-Star Martin McHugh has branded Kerry legend Colm Cooper a “two-trick pony” and claimed his 24-year-old county teammate James O’Donoghue is a better player.

McHugh lauded O’Donoghue - who was named the man-of-the-match in Kerry’s All-Ireland quarter-final win over Galway - as one of the finest players he’s ever seen and as a better player than his much vaunted Kerry teammate.

Poor Martin McHugh has gone way down in my estimation after his statement about James O Donoghue and the Gooch #areuserious

— Ian Brick (@ian4brick) August 3, 2014

“I just want to make a point here: he’s a better player than Cooper, he’s one of the greatest I’ve ever seen. In my opinion, Cooper’s a two-trick pony I just really believe that... I’m just making a point what I feel about him personally having watched him, studied him,” said McHugh on the Sunday Game.

Fellow panellists Dermot Earley and Kevin McStay came to the defence of the four-time All-Ireland winner who is currently recuperating from a broken kneecap and cruciate ligament injury sustained in April.

If only Gooch was a two-trick pony, Cork would have beaten Kerry more than five times from 23 championship meetings since his debut.

— Éamonn Murphy (@EamonnMurphy19) August 3, 2014

McHugh however dismissed their protestations that O’Donoghue merely had the potential to surpass Cooper but had much to achieve before he would reach such a level – implying that talent rather than longevity is the true mark of greatness.

The Donegal man illustrated his point by highlighting former Offaly forward Matt Connor whose career was cruelly cut short on Christmas Day 1984 when a road traffic accident left him confined to a wheelchair.

“The greatest footballer I’ve watched is Matt Connor. Matt Connor was gone at 24, at 21 and 22 he was [a] class player. James O’Donoghue is different folks, he’s just totally different. He’s got pace..He’s got two feet.

“I really believe that this is the most exciting player I’ve seen in Gaelic football in a long, long time. He might never win [an All-Ireland], he doesn’t have the same quality of player with him. He’s just class; he’s carrying that Kerry team,” he added.