OConnor is hitting form at the right time for Cork

By Ger McCarthy

DONNCHA O’Connor is hitting form for club, division and county at just the right time ahead of a Munster final meeting with Kerry.

The Duhallow forward registered ten points during a virtuoso display to help see off Muskerry last Tuesday evening but was quick to pay tribute to the hard work put in by the entire squad rather than focussing his own individual performance.

In form: Donncha O’Connor.

‘We (Duhallow) are just happy to get over the line to be honest,’ commented O’Connor to The Southern Star.

‘We had Muskerry at the same stage of the championship last year and they taught us a bit of lesson. Personally, I haven’t been training that much with them but the boys have put in a really decent effort since the start of the year.

‘It would have been a shame to come out on a night like Tuesday night and leave it behind you, no matter who you were playing. We asked what’s the point in putting such a huge effort if you are not going to show up come championship time. I think most of us showed up and recorded a good win.’

The upturn in O’Connor’s form and fitness levels were apparent to an appreciative crowd in Macroom on Tuesday tonight, building on the previous weekend’s positive showing against Clare.

‘To be fair, any game I get to play in the next couple of weeks I’ll be delighted with because I missed enough through injury in the last while,’ admitted the Duhallow forward.

‘I am trying to get in as many games as I can in the coming weeks but without overdoing it.

‘A game like that against Muskerry will bring me on even more even though it might not be at inter-county level it still isn’t too far off it. We were up against some tough players but getting into the fourth round is something that Duhallow can look forward to and build towards later in the summer.

‘We will put the heads down for the next while even though as a divisional squad it is sometimes next to impossible to prepare properly with so much else going on. Fellas are playing intermediate and junior games around this time so they are focused on other things but we will just do the best we can.’

If his latest efforts are anything to go by, Donncha O’Connor looks set for a fruitful summer in the colours of his division and county.