May has ‘a lot to work on’

May star Cillian O’Connor has said that Connacht’s team has “a lot to work on” heading into Ireland’s final against Dublin on 19 December.

O’Connor posted an incredible 4-09 in his 66 minutes on the field in his 5-20-313 semi-final win over Tipperary, but said many improvements were needed before the deciding match.

Munster’s team won the second half by three points, while also missing a number of scoring opportunities, with Ballintubber’s man saying it just wouldn’t be good enough against Dessie Farrell’s men.

“Tipp is a serious team and they were always going to cause us some problems,” O’Connor said. The Sunday Game Live.

“We have a lot of homework to do now, a lot of work to do in the next two weeks.

“We have a lot to work on, (we were) disappointed with some aspects of our game. Overall, we won, we were happy and we enjoyed the day.”

O’Connor’s performance is one that should have received a standing ovation in every corner of Croke Park when he was last substituted, but was instead met with mostly silence from fans who are currently not allowed to attend due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

The attacker said that his fervent fanbase was very much present in his thoughts throughout the game.

“I think the break made us realize how privileged we are and how lucky we are to play.

“There are thousands of fans who would have loved to be here today, we are very aware of that fact and want to give all we can this year every time we go out.

“We obviously miss them, we’d rather we had a full house here today. We’re just trying to make sure people at home in their living rooms enjoy the games and we give them a lot to shout about. Fortunately we have another day left at the season “.

That day, of course, will be Ireland’s fourth final clash with Dublin in eight seasons.

The current scoreboard favors Dublin 3-0, but O’Connor believes the way the season has played out has taken some of the usual pressure off them.

“I don’t see why not,” he replied when asked if Mayo could end his 69-year wait for Sam Maguire.

“We have enjoyed training for the last few weeks, we were delighted to come back and have a season where we didn’t know if we would do it.

“It’s a really nice group at the moment. Let’s go back on Wednesday and train hard and whatever the date of the final is, we’ll go up and do our best.”