Garry O'Connor

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Not to be confused with Garry O'Connor (writer) or Gary O'Connor.
Garry O'Connor
GarryOConnor 2009 pre-season cropped.jpg
O'Connor in pre-season, 2009
Personal information
Full name Garry Lawrence John O'Connor
Date of birth 7 May 1983 (1983-05-07) (age 28)
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Hibernian
Number 9
Youth career
Salvesen Boys Club
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2000–2006 Hibernian 138 (46)
2000 → Peterhead (loan) 4 (1)
2006–2007 Lokomotiv Moscow 33 (7)
2007–2011 Birmingham City 52 (9)
2010 → Barnsley (loan) 4 (1)
2010 → Barnsley (loan) 5 (2)
2011 Barnsley 13 (1)
2011– Hibernian 23 (9)
National team‡
2002– Scotland 16 (4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21 February 2012.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 3 December 2011

Garry Lawrence John O'Connor[1] (born 7 May 1983 in Edinburgh)[2] is a Scottish professional footballer who currently plays for Hibernian. He has also played for the Scotland international team.

O'Connor began his career with Hibernian, where his performances in 2002 earned him selection for Scotland as an 18-year-old, and he later earned a lucrative transfer to Lokomotiv Moscow. He scored a winning goal in the 2007 Russian Cup Final for Lokomotiv. O'Connor struggled to settle in Russia, and he returned to the United Kingdom later that year by signing for Birmingham City. O'Connor struggled to hold a place in the Birmingham side due to injuries, and he spent most of the 2010–11 season with Barnsley.

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Hibernian (first spell)

O'Connor made his Hibernian debut under manager Alex McLeish in April 2001 as a substitute against Dundee,[3] his only appearance that season. O'Connor made just four appearances before Christmas in the following season. After the departure of Alex McLeish to Rangers and the appointment of new manager Franck Sauzée, O'Connor featured more regularly in the first team. He scored his first goal for the club in a 1–1 draw with Celtic in February 2002.[4] Although Sauzée was sacked later that month, O'Connor continued to feature in the first team under Sauzée's successor Bobby Williamson. O'Connor went on to score a further seven goals that season, including goals in five consecutive games between March and April.

Following two seasons in which he struggled to fulfil his early promise, the arrival of manager Tony Mowbray at Hibs in May 2004 led to improved form for both O'Connor and the team as a whole, as Hibs finished third in the 2004–05 Scottish Premier League. O'Connor formed a formidable partnership with Derek Riordan, and between them they scored 42 goals that season, as Hibs earned qualification for the UEFA Cup.

On 26 February 2006, it was reported that O'Connor was set to join Lokomotiv Moscow for approximately £1.6 million. This offer was subsequently accepted by Hibernian, with Tony Mowbray conceding that the personal terms on offer, a reported weekly wage of £16,000, were "life-changing for Garry and his family".[5] On 6 March, it was announced that the transfer had been agreed.[5] O'Connor scored a total of 58 goals for Hibs in all competitions and scored in his final Hibs appearance, against Falkirk in the Scottish Cup.[6]

[edit] Lokomotiv Moscow

On 22 March 2006, O'Connor scored for the first time for Lokomotiv Moscow, the opening goal in a 2–2 draw with Spartak Moscow in a Russian Cup tie. He opened the scoring for his side against Torpedo Moscow in a 4–1 win on 14 May. In the 2006 season, he scored seven league goals and a cup goal in the 29 matches he played in (although only on the field for the full 90 minutes in five matches – he averaged 58 minutes of playing time per match), and was yellow-carded once. In Moscow he formed a partnership with Russian international Dmitry Sychev, although Dramane Traoré, the Mali international, threatened his position.

On 27 May 2007, O'Connor came off the bench to score the winning goal for Lokomotiv Moscow in the 2007 Russian Cup Final against city rivals FC Moscow.[7] The extra-time goal, coming in the 109th minute, was enough to seal a 1–0 victory for the railway team, and provided a measure of redemption for O'Connor, who struggled to settle in Russia for family reasons.[7]

[edit] Birmingham City

O'Connor warms up before a 2007 friendly against Walsall at the Bescot Stadium.

O'Connor completed a £2.7m move to Birmingham City on 28 June 2007,[8] and scored his first goal for the club on his first appearance, on 15 August 2007 against Sunderland in a 2–2 draw.[9] However, he lost his place, and manager Alex McLeish told him he needed to get fitter to return to the starting eleven.[10] He had to wait until January 2008 for his second league goal, an equaliser against Arsenal.[2] He missed several games in early 2008 through illness,[11] and McLeish told him to "write the season off and come back this season all guns blazing".[12]

O'Connor worked with a fitness coach over the summer, lost weight, and returned to training with a positive attitude towards the coming season and towards his manager.[13] He had a successful pre-season and started well in the Championship with an assist for Kevin Phillips followed by scoring three goals in three games, but then sustained a groin injury.[14] Returning to the team a month later, he produced some good performances and scored three more goals in two games,[15][16] prompting his inclusion in the Championship Team of the Week,[17] before again injuring his groin, this time in the pre-match warm-up at Queens Park Rangers on 29 October 2008, a match which Birmingham went on to lose.[18] He returned to first team action against Doncaster on 14 March 2009. O'Connor's goal for 10-man Birmingham which confirmed their 2–0 win over Championship leaders Wolverhampton Wanderers was voted as the club's Moment of the Season.[19][20]

O'Connor missed most of the 2009–10 season due to undergoing two operations on a hip injury.[21] McLeish suggested that the injury dated back to O'Connor's time with Hibernian and had been aggravated by playing on synthetic pitches in Russia while he was with Lokomotiv Moscow.[21] A Channel 4 documentary Dispatches, aired in September 2011, claimed that O'Connor had been sidelined due to failing a drugs test.[22] O'Connor's contract had been due to expire at the end of the 2009–10 season, but the club extended it until the end of 2010 in order for O'Connor to prove his fitness.[21]

[edit] Barnsley

To regain match fitness, O'Connor signed on loan for Championship club Barnsley on 10 September 2010 for one month.[23] He scored a goal on his debut in a 5–2 win against Leeds United.[24] Although Birmingham were happy for the player to remain at Barnsley, whose manager wanted to extend the loan, budgetary considerations made it impossible.[25] Though O'Connor returned to Birmingham's first team, Cameron Jerome's recovery from injury left the player again looking for regular football, so in November he rejoined Barnsley for another month.[26][27] His 89th-minute winning goal at Preston North End on his second Barnsley debut secured the club's first away win since February.[28] O'Connor then scored the third Barnsley goal in a 3–1 win at Ipswich Town.[29] O'Connor then signed on a permanent basis with Barnsley, from 1 January 2011 until the end of the 2010–11 season.[30] He scored only once in 13 appearances, and his contract was cancelled by mutual consent in April 2011.[31]

[edit] Return to Hibernian

O'Connor re-signed for Hibernian on a one year contract on 15 June 2011.[32] He scored his first goal in his second spell with the club in their second match of the 2011–12 season, a 92nd-minute winner away to Inverness.[33][34] Hibs had never previously won at the Caledonian Stadium.[33] O'Connor made an excellent start to the season, scoring 10 goals in his first 11 appearances.[35]

[edit] International career

His impressive form towards the end of the 2001–02 season was noticed by Scotland national team manager Berti Vogts, who gave O'Connor his international debut, against South Korea in May 2002.[36] O'Connor was then relegated to the Scotland under-21 squad for a few seasons as he struggled to find his best form. O'Connor's improved form in the 2004–05 season earned him a recall to the full squad, and he scored his first Scotland goal in a 2–2 draw with Austria in August 2005.[37]

After featuring in the 1–0 victory against France at Hampden Park on 7 October 2006,[38] O'Connor and the rest of the team were given an evening off before reconvening ahead of the trip to Ukraine for another qualifying match. O'Connor failed to rejoin the squad and was axed from the travelling party by manager Walter Smith.[39] O'Connor subsequently issued an apology through his agent without revealing the exact cause of his failure to appear, while assistant manager Tommy Burns announced that O'Connor was unlikely to be frozen out of the squad permanently.

O'Connor said that his wife was unhappy with life in Moscow and he had decided to stay with her rather than return to training.[40] It was later revealed that O'Connor left the squad as his sister Kerry, a recovering drug addict, had attempted to commit suicide.[41]

He was recalled to the Scotland squad in May 2007 under new manager, and his former boss at Hibs, Alex McLeish. O'Connor was initially drafted in due to squad call-offs but was given a place in the starting line-up for the friendly match with Austria. O'Connor scored the only goal of the game as Scotland won 1–0.[42] This was followed up seven days later with a goal in the 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying victory over the Faroe Islands.[43]

O'Connor was then left out of the Scotland squad for almost two years after appearing against the Ukraine in October 2007, but was recalled for the matches in September 2009 against Macedonia and the Netherlands after Kevin Kyle withdrew from the squad due to injury.[44]

His excellent goalscoring form at the start of the 2011–12 season prompted speculation that O'Connor would be recalled to the Scotland squad.[35] Manager Craig Levein chose to leave O'Connor out, however, because he had been charged with alleged drugs possession and insurance fraud offences.[35]

[edit] International goals

Scores and results list Scotland's goal tally first.
Num Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 17 August 2005 Graz, Austria  Austria 2–0 2–2 Friendly
2 2 September 2006 Glasgow, Scotland  Faroe Islands 6–0 6–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
3 30 May 2007 Vienna, Austria  Austria 1–0 1–0 Friendly
4 6 June 2007 Toftir, Faroe Islands  Faroe Islands 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying

[edit] Statistics

As of 12 February 2012[45][46]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hibernian 2000–01 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0
Peterhead 2000–01 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Peterhead total 2000 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 1
Hibernian 2001–02 19 9 3 0 2 0 0 0 24 9
2002–03 23 7 3 0 2 2 0 0 28 9
2003–04 33 5 1 0 5 2 0 0 39 7
2004–05 36 14 4 3 3 2 2 1 45 20
2005–06 26 11 3 3 1 0 2 0 32 14
Hibernian total 2000–2006 138 46 14 6 13 6 4 1 169 59
Lokomotiv Moscow 2006 24 7 24 7
2007 9 0 9 0
Lokomotiv total 2006-2007 33 7 33 7
Birmingham City 2007–08 23 2 1 1 2 1 0 0 26 4
2008-09 16 6 0 0 2 1 0 0 18 7
2009–10 10 1 0 0 2 0 0 0 12 1
2010–11 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 5 0
Birmingham total 2007–2011 52 9 1 1 8 2 0 0 61 12
Barnsley 2010-11 22 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 23 4
Barnsley total 2010–2011 22 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 23 4
Hibernian 2011–12 22 9 1 0 3 3 0 0 26 12
Hibernian total 2011– 22 9 1 0 3 3 0 0 26 12
Total 271 76 18 7 24 11 4 1 317 95

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Statistics" (PDF). Premier League. http://www.premierleague.com/staticFiles/7b/53/0,,12306~152443,00.pdf. Retrieved 3 August 2010. 
  2. ^ a b "Games played by Garry O'Connor in 2007/08". Soccerbase. http://www.soccerbase.com/players_details.sd?playerid=16926&seasonid=137. Retrieved 21 February 2009. 
  3. ^ "French connection wins it for Hibs". BBC Sport (BBC). 29 April 2001. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/1303446.stm. 
  4. ^ "Battling Hibs hold Celtic". BBC Sport (BBC). 1 February 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_prem/1794903.stm. 
  5. ^ a b "Lokomotiv complete O'Connor deal". BBC Sport (BBC). 7 March 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/h/hibernian/4752964.stm. Retrieved 10 September 2010. 
  6. ^ "Falkirk 1–5 Hibernian". BBC Sport (BBC). 25 February 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_cups/4745628.stm. 
  7. ^ a b "Birmingham complete O'Connor deal". BBC Sport (BBC). 23 June 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/6231588.stm. Retrieved 8 July 2010. 
  8. ^ "O'Connor completes Blues move". Birmingham City F.C. 28 June 2007. http://www.bcfc.com/page/News/NewsDetail/0,,10412~1056936,00.html. Retrieved 8 September 2010. 
  9. ^ "Birmingham 2–2 Sunderland". BBC Sport (BBC). 15 August 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/6941801.stm. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  10. ^ "O'Connor told to get fit". Sky Sports (BSkyB). 26 December 2007. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11095_3005443,00.html. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  11. ^ "Fulham Reserves 2 Birmingham City Reserves 2". Birmingham Mail. 5 March 2008. http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2008/03/05/fulham-reserves-2-birmingham-city-reserves-2-97319-20560390/. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  12. ^ Tattum, Colin (17 July 2008). "Garry O'Connor impressing the boss". Birmingham Mail. http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2008/07/17/garry-o-connor-impressing-the-boss-97319-21357466/. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  13. ^ Tattum, Colin (18 July 2008). "Garry O'Connor will show his true worth". Birmingham Mail. http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2008/07/18/garry-o-connor-will-show-his-true-worth-97319-21366940/. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  14. ^ Waddell, Gordon (28 September 2008). "Tattoo much to bare for O'Connor". Sunday Mail (Trinity Mirror). http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/sport-news/scottish-football/english-football/2008/09/28/tattoo-much-to-bare-for-o-connor-78057-20757350/. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  15. ^ "Blues boss applauds O'Connor show". BBC Sport (BBC). 22 October 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/7683873.stm. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  16. ^ "McLeish delighted over O'Connor". BBC Sport (BBC). 28 October 2008. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/7695186.stm. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  17. ^ "Team Of The Week (27 October 2008)" (PDF). The Football League. 27 October 2008. http://www.football-league.co.uk/staticFiles/9a/19/0,,10794~137626,00.pdf. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  18. ^ Tattum, Colin (29 October 2008). "Lee Carsley: Birmingham City will bounce back". Birmingham Mail. http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2008/10/29/lee-carsley-birmingham-city-will-bounce-back-97319-22143865/. Retrieved 31 October 2008. 
  19. ^ Winter, Henry (6 April 2009). "Ten-man Birmingham outplay Wolves to close gap on leaders". The Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/championship/5116597/Ten-man-Birmingham-outplay-Wolves-to-close-gap-on-leaders.html. Retrieved 21 May 2010. 
  20. ^ Walker, Andy (18 April 2009). "Garry O’Connor aims to become a hero with Blues fans". Birmingham Mail. http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2009/04/18/garry-o-connor-aims-to-become-a-hero-with-blues-fans-97319-23410710/. Retrieved 21 May 2010. 
  21. ^ a b c "Garry O'Connor given new six-month Birmingham City deal". BBC Sport (BBC). 16 July 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/b/birmingham_city/8816961.stm. Retrieved 16 July 2010. 
  22. ^ Pitt-Brooke, Jack (13 September 2011). "O'Connor's two-month cocaine ban revealed". The Independent (Independent Digital News and Media Limited). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/oconnors-twomonth-cocaine-ban-revealed-2353808.html. Retrieved 13 September 2011. 
  23. ^ "Tykes swoop for O'Connor". Sky Sports. 10 September 2010. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11694_6369102,00.html. Retrieved 10 September 2010. 
  24. ^ "Barnsley 5–2 Leeds United". BBC Sport. 14 September 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8989249.stm. Retrieved 14 September 2010. 
  25. ^ Tattum, Colin (9 October 2010). "Garry O'Connor back at Birmingham City from loan spell". Birmingham Mail. http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/2010/10/09/garry-o-connor-back-at-birmingham-city-from-loan-spell-97319-27434576/. Retrieved 16 October 2010. 
  26. ^ Tattum, Colin (5 November 2010). "Garry O'Connor exits Birmingham City once more". Birmingham Mail. http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/birmingham-city-fc/birmingham-city-fc-news/2010/11/05/garry-o-connor-exits-birmingham-city-once-more-97319-27604528/. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
  27. ^ "O'Connor Returns On Loan". Barnsley F.C. 8 November 2010. http://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10309~2212484,00.html. Retrieved 8 November 2010. 
  28. ^ Ward, Dave (10 November 2010). "Preston 1 Barnsley 2". The Sun (London). http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3219958/Preston-1-Barnsley-2.html. Retrieved 10 November 2010. 
  29. ^ "Match Centre Ipswich Town 1 Barnsley 3: Best yet, insists Robins". Yorkshire Post. 13 November 2010. http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/football/MATCH-CENTRE-Ipswich-Town-1.6624797.jp. Retrieved 13 November 2010. 
  30. ^ "O'Connor signs permanent deal". Barnsley F.C. 11 December 2010. http://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10309~2241924,00.html. Retrieved 11 December 2010. 
  31. ^ "O'Connor leaves Barnsley". Barnsley F.C. 12 April 2011. http://www.barnsleyfc.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10309~2336390,00.html. Retrieved 12 April 2011. 
  32. ^ "O'Connor Returns Home". Hibernian F.C. 15 June 2011. http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/news/20110615/oconnor-returns-home_2262950_2376860. Retrieved 15 June 2011. 
  33. ^ a b Bathgate, Stuart (1 August 2011). "O'Connor quickly proving naysayers wrong". The Scotsman (Johnston Press). http://sport.scotsman.com/sport/Stuart-Bathgate-O39Connor-quickly-proving.6810842.jp. Retrieved 1 August 2011. 
  34. ^ "Inverness CT 0–1 Hibernian". BBC Sport. 30 July 2011. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/14321302.stm. Retrieved 31 July 2011. 
  35. ^ a b c Bathgate, Stuart; Hannan, Martin (30 September 2011). "Craig Levein keen to select O'Connor but off-field issues blocked call-up". The Scotsman (Johnston Press). http://sport.scotsman.com/sport/Craig-Levein-keen-to-select.6845214.jp. Retrieved 30 September 2011. 
  36. ^ "South Korea humble Scotland". BBC Sport website (BBC). 16 May 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/team_pages/south_korea/newsid_1988000/1988667.stm. 
  37. ^ "Austria 2–2 Scotland". BBC Sport (BBC). 17 August 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4134446.stm. 
  38. ^ Moffat, Colin (7 October 2006). "Scotland 1–0 France". BBC Sport (BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/5397614.stm. 
  39. ^ "Smith dismayed at absent O'Connor". BBC Sport (BBC). 9 October 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6032917.stm. 
  40. ^ Forsyth, Roddy (14 October 2006). "O'Connor 'put family first'". Daily Telegraph (London). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/sport/2006/10/14/sfnsco14.xml. Retrieved 3 May 2010. 
  41. ^ "Sister's suicide bid". Sunday Mail (Trinity Mirror). 15 October 2006. http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_headline=garry-pain-&method=full&objectid=17933034&siteid=64736-name_page.html. 
  42. ^ Taylor, Julian (30 May 2007). "Austria 0–1 Scotland". BBC Sport website. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6696543.stm. 
  43. ^ Taylor, Julian (6 June 2007). "Faroe Islands 0–2 Scotland". BBC Sport (BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/6713997.stm. 
  44. ^ Moffat, Colin (31 August 2009). "Scotland call up striker O'Connor". BBC Sport (BBC). http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/8230555.stm. 
  45. ^ Garry O'Connor career stats at Soccerbase
  46. ^ Garry O'Connor career stats at Soccerbase

[edit] External links

Hibernian F.C. – current squad


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