Garry O'Connor

Not to be confused with Garry O'Connor (writer) or Gary O'Connor.
Garry O'Connor

O'Connor in pre-season with Birmingham City, 2009
Personal information
Full name Garry Lawrence John O'Connor
Date of birth (1983-05-07) 7 May 1983
Place of birth Edinburgh, Scotland
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 Selkirk (player/caretaker manager)
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)
2011–2012 Hibernian 33 (12)
2012 Tom Tomsk 6 (1)
2014 Greenock Morton 11 (1)
2014– Selkirk (18)
National team‡
2004 Scotland U21 5 (2)
2002–2009 Scotland 16 (4)
Teams managed
2015– Selkirk (caretaker manager)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 June 2015.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 16:39, 31 December 2013 (UTC)

Garry Lawrence John O'Connor[1] (born 7 May 1983) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays for and temporarily manages Lowland League club Selkirk. He has previously played for Hibernian, Peterhead, Lokomotiv Moscow, Barnsley, Tom Tomsk, Birmingham City, Greenock Morton and represented Scotland.

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. He then returned to Hibernian for the 2011–12 season, scoring 12 goals in 33 league appearances. O'Connor signed for Russian club Tom Tomsk in July 2012, but was released after making only six appearances.

Club career

Hibernian (first spell)

Born in Edinburgh,[2] 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.

Lokomotiv Moscow

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]

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]

Birmingham City

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

O'Connor completed a £2.7 million 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]

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]

Later career

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] This form meant that O'Connor was the subject of transfer speculation in January 2012,[36] but injuries restricted his appearances.[37] O'Connor was rested for some matches and given additional training to improve his level of fitness.[38] He responded by scoring a goal in three consecutive matches, which helped to earn four league points[39] and a place in the 2012 Scottish Cup Final. Hibs retained their place in the SPL, but then lost to Hearts in the Scottish Cup Final. O'Connor's contract with Hibs expired on 1 June 2012; on the same day, he was found guilty on charges of possessing cocaine and obstructing a police officer.[40]

O'Connor returned to Russian football in July 2012, when he signed a two-year contract with FC Tom Tomsk.[41] He was initially unable to play for the club, which was subject to a player registration ban.[42] O'Connor made his debut appearance for the club on 6 August, but was sent off after 65 minutes in the match against Baltika Kaliningrad.[42] He was released from his contract in December 2012, having made just six appearances, scoring one goal.[43]

O'Connor returned to Scottish football on 6 January 2014, agreeing a contract with Greenock Morton until the end of the 2013–14 season.[44] He left Morton at the end of the season, having scored only one goal as they were relegated to League One. O'Connor signed a one-year contract with Lowland League club Selkirk on 1 August 2014.[45] He scored 18 Lowland League goals in the 2014–15 season, 21 in all competitions;[46] he then re-signed with Selkirk for the 2015–16 season.

International career

Scotland national team manager Berti Vogts gave O'Connor his international début, against South Korea in May 2002.[47] 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.[48]

After featuring in the 1–0 victory against France at Hampden Park on 7 October 2006,[49] 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.[50] 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.[51]

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.[52] This was followed up seven days later with a goal in the 2–0 UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying victory over the Faroe Islands.[53] 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.[54]

International goals

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

Coaching career

On 28 October 2015, O'Connor was appointed as Selkirk caretaker manager following the sacking of Steve Forrest.[55][56]

Honours

Lokomotiv Moscow
Birmingham City

Statistics

As of 16:14, 24 December 2012 (UTC)[57][58][59][60]
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Peterhead 2000–01 4110000051
Peterhead total20004110000051
Hibernian 2000–01 1000000010
2001–02 199302000249
2002–03 237302200289
2003–04 335105200397
2004–05 36144332214520
2005–06 26113310203214
Hibernian total2000–2006138461461364116959
Lokomotiv Moscow 2006 247310020298
2007 90530000143
Lokomotiv total2006–20073378400204311
Birmingham City 2007–08 232112100264
2008–09 166002100187
2009–10 101002000121
2010–11 3000200050
Birmingham total2007–20115291182006112
Barnsley 2010–11 224100000234
Barnsley total2010–2011224100000234
Hibernian 2011–12 33124133004016
Hibernian total2011–201233124133004016
Tom Tomsk 2012–13 6100000061
Total 288802912241161347104

References

  1. ↑ "Statistics" (PDF). Premier League. Retrieved 3 August 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Games played by Garry O'Connor in 2007/08". Soccerbase. Retrieved 21 February 2009.
  3. ↑ "French connection wins it for Hibs". BBC Sport. BBC. 29 April 2001.
  4. ↑ "Battling Hibs hold Celtic". BBC Sport. BBC. 1 February 2002.
  5. 1 2 "Lokomotiv complete O'Connor deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 7 March 2006. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  6. ↑ "Falkirk 1–5 Hibernian". BBC Sport. BBC. 25 February 2006.
  7. 1 2 "Birmingham complete O'Connor deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 23 June 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  8. ↑ "O'Connor completes Blues move". Birmingham City F.C. 28 June 2007. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
  9. ↑ "Birmingham 2–2 Sunderland". BBC Sport. BBC. 15 August 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  10. ↑ "O'Connor told to get fit". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 26 December 2007. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  11. ↑ "Fulham Reserves 2 Birmingham City Reserves 2". Birmingham Mail. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  12. ↑ Tattum, Colin (17 July 2008). "Garry O'Connor impressing the boss". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  13. ↑ Tattum, Colin (18 July 2008). "Garry O'Connor will show his true worth". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  14. ↑ Waddell, Gordon (28 September 2008). "Tattoo much to bare for O'Connor". Sunday Mail. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  15. ↑ "Blues boss applauds O'Connor show". BBC Sport. BBC. 22 October 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  16. ↑ "McLeish delighted over O'Connor". BBC Sport. BBC. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  17. ↑ "Team of the Week (27 October 2008)" (PDF). The Football League. 27 October 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  18. ↑ Tattum, Colin (29 October 2008). "Lee Carsley: Birmingham City will bounce back". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 31 October 2008.
  19. ↑ Winter, Henry (6 April 2009). "Ten-man Birmingham outplay Wolves to close gap on leaders". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  20. ↑ Walker, Andy (18 April 2009). "Garry O'Connor aims to become a hero with Blues fans". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
  21. 1 2 3 "Garry O'Connor given new six-month Birmingham City deal". BBC Sport. BBC. 16 July 2010. 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. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
  23. ↑ "Tykes swoop for O'Connor". Sky Sports. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 10 September 2010.
  24. ↑ "Barnsley 5–2 Leeds United". BBC Sport. 14 September 2010. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
  25. ↑ Tattum, Colin (9 October 2010). "Garry O'Connor back at Birmingham City from loan spell". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
  26. ↑ Tattum, Colin (5 November 2010). "Garry O'Connor exits Birmingham City once more". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  27. ↑ "O'Connor Returns On Loan". Barnsley F.C. 8 November 2010. Retrieved 8 November 2010.
  28. ↑ Ward, Dave (10 November 2010). "Preston 1 Barnsley 2". The Sun. London. Retrieved 10 November 2010.
  29. ↑ "Match Centre Ipswich Town 1 Barnsley 3: Best yet, insists Robins". Yorkshire Post. 13 November 2010. Retrieved 13 November 2010.
  30. ↑ "O'Connor signs permanent deal". Barnsley F.C. 11 December 2010. Retrieved 11 December 2010.
  31. ↑ "O'Connor leaves Barnsley". Barnsley F.C. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 12 April 2011.
  32. ↑ "O'Connor Returns Home". Hibernian F.C. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2011.
  33. 1 2 Bathgate, Stuart (1 August 2011). "O'Connor quickly proving naysayers wrong". The Scotsman. Johnston Press. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  34. ↑ "Inverness CT 0–1 Hibernian". BBC Sport. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
  35. ↑ 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. Retrieved 30 September 2011.
  36. ↑ McLauchlin, Brian (5 January 2012). "Hibs manager Pat Fenlon keen to retain Garry O'Connor". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  37. ↑ "Hibs boss closes in on new faces". STV. STV Group. 6 January 2012. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  38. ↑ Strachan, Colleen (5 April 2012). "Hibs boss backs Garry O'Connor to crank things up". Edinburgh Evening News. Johnston Press. Retrieved 5 April 2012.
  39. ↑ "Hibernian manager Pat Fenlon says O'Connor is vital". BBC Sport. BBC. 8 April 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2012.
  40. ↑ "Scotland player Garry O'Connor found guilty in drug case". BBC News. BBC. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  41. ↑ Шотландский нападающий Гарри О'Коннор стал игроком "Томи". fctomtomsk.ru (in Russian). FC Tom Tomsk. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  42. 1 2 "Garry O'Connor Sent Off on Debut in Russia Return". en.ria.ru. RIA Novosti. 6 August 2012. Retrieved 8 August 2012.
  43. ↑ Moffat, Colin (24 December 2012). "Garry O'Connor and Derek Riordan become free agents". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  44. ↑ "Garry O'Connor agrees short-term deal at Morton". BBC Sport. BBC. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
  45. ↑ "Skies, road and rail conspire to bring O'Connor to Selkirk". The Herald. Herald & Times Group. 2 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  46. ↑ "Selkirk FC 2014-15 Season Record". Selkirk FC. 21 July 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  47. ↑ "South Korea humble Scotland". BBC Sport website. BBC. 16 May 2002.
  48. ↑ "Austria 2–2 Scotland". BBC Sport. BBC. 17 August 2005.
  49. ↑ Moffat, Colin (7 October 2006). "Scotland 1–0 France". BBC Sport. BBC.
  50. ↑ "Smith dismayed at absent O'Connor". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 October 2006.
  51. ↑ Forsyth, Roddy (14 October 2006). "O'Connor 'put family first'". Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
  52. ↑ Taylor, Julian (30 May 2007). "Austria 0–1 Scotland". BBC Sport website.
  53. ↑ Taylor, Julian (6 June 2007). "Faroe Islands 0–2 Scotland". BBC Sport. BBC.
  54. ↑ Moffat, Colin (31 August 2009). "Scotland call up striker O'Connor". BBC Sport. BBC.
  55. ↑ "Club Statement". Selkirk FC. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  56. ↑ STV Sport. 28 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  57. ↑ Garry O'Connor career statistics at Soccerbase
  58. ↑ Garry O'Connor career statistics at Soccerbase
  59. ↑ Информация по игроку: 2006 [Player information] (in Russian). Russian Football Premier League. Archived from the original on 8 August 2007.
  60. ↑ Информация по игроку: 2007 [Player information] (in Russian). Russian Football Premier League. Archived from the original on 26 June 2008.
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